Sheffield United transfer ‘hasn’t worked out’ – Blades must forget repeat Wolves deal | OneFootball

FLW’s Blades fan pundit has commented on whether the club should make Ki-Jana Hoever’s stay in the Steel City permanent.

Sheffield United will be having one eye on next season as their play-off hopes continue to drift away.

A 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Wrexham means the Blades continue to sit lower mid-table in the Championship standings during the international break.

While the situation could have been a lot worse after Chris Wilder resurrected the side from the bottom end of the table after the first six weeks of the season under Ruben Selles, the 58-year-old will have to find a way of tuning some consistency into his playing squad, with a lack of that in both performances and results preventing them from getting themselves back into promotion contention.

It’s bound to be a tough summer ahead for Sheffield United now promotion is not on the cards too, as the Yorkshire outfit are all but set to lose their parachute payments from the Premier League as they embark on a third straight season in the Championship.

This means the club will have to be savvy with its recruitment, although they could turn to making some of their loan signings from this term permanent, if they feel they could work in a better overall side.

One of those loanees is defender Ki-Jana Hoever, who linked up at Bramall Lane in the early stages of the January transfer window from Premier League outfit Wolves.

The right-back has featured 10 times for the Blades in the second tier since making the move, making four starts and earning 416 minutes of game-time.

Despite it being a largely underwhelming season, the Blades could feel that taking Hoever on a permanent deal is worth exploring, giving him a full season under his belt to prove what he can fully do in the second tier.

And with this in mind, FLW’s Sheffield United fan pundit has commented over whether the Blades should make the Dutchman’s stay in the Steel City permanent.

Sheffield United urged to avoid Ki Jana-Hoever permanent deal as loan spell “hasn’t worked out”

Speaking to Football League World, Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy (AKA Blades Ramble) has insisted that the Blades look to “other options” rather than make a permanent move for Ki Jana-Hoever, with the defender doing little to convince supporters through his performances that he deserves to extend his stay in the Steel City beyond this season.

Jimmy told FLW: “I was really pleased when we signed Ki-Jana Hoever. I thought he was a very good signing for Sheffield United, having seen him play for Stoke City twice in the Championship and do very well, so I thought he’d come in and be really significant competition for Femi Seriki, but unfortunately, for whatever reason, it just hasn’t worked for him.

“Whilst I wouldn’t usually write a player off so early, his parent club are coming down to the Championship. Would they want to sell to a rival? I’m not sure.

“I think there’s probably a player in there, but he’s not shown us enough to make us think we should be pushing the boat out to sign him on a permanent basis.

“I think there’ll be other options available to us in the summer that we’re better off exploring, so it’s a no from me on Ki-Jana Hoever.”

Sheffield United should wave goodbye to Ki-Jana Hoever at the end of the season

Despite playing Premier League football at the beginning of the season for Wolves, Ki Jana-Hoever has done little to inspire on his return to the Championship with Sheffield United for the second half of this season.

The Dutch defender has seen his minutes scattered under Chris Wilder, unable to nail down a regular starting spot as he continues to battle it out with Femi Seriki for the right-back position.

Meanwhile, for such an attacking right-back, Hoever hasn’t been able to record a single attacking contribution, while he’s been part of a defence that has shipped 13 goals in the 10 games he’s been on the pitch for.

Overall, Hoever just hasn’t had the impact either himself or the club would have wanted. Blades supporters would have expected a lot more from a player who had previously shone for Stoke in the same division, but for whatever reason, he just hasn’t been able to produce for the red and white in Yorkshire.

Sheffield United should make sure Hoever returns to Wolves and pursue other targets in the summer who can make more of a sizeable contribution, with competition in that position vital if the Blades are to have a strong enough squad to challenge for promotion next term.