'Chris Wilder will be annoyed'- Sheffield United transfer situation slammed as four head for Bramall Lane exit | OneFootball

With reports that four players signed last summer could be leaving Sheffield United in January, their AI-driven transfer policy has been slammed.

Sheffield United's AI-driven recruitment model has been slammed, with the news that up to four of the players brought in last summer could all be leaving the club.

Relegation no longer seems to be among their concerns for the time being, but there can be no doubting that the first half of Sheffield United's season was something of a disaster for the club.

The decision to replace Chris Wilder with Ruben Selles at the end of the 2024-25 season had an immediately negative impact on the team, a choice corrected by sacking Selles and re-hiring Wilder in September.

And these mis-steps continued into their transfer policy over the summer. Under the advice of consultant and former professional gambler James Bord, the Blades employed an AI-driven recruitment model to identify new players, but with half of the season now having been played, the folly of doing so has become increasingly clear, with reports that four of the players that they brought in during the summer - Alex Matos, Mihail Polendakov, Christian Nwachukwu and Ehije Ukaki - all could be leaving again in the January transfer window.

"The closing of a terrible chapter" - Sheffield United's AI transfer policy criticised

Football League World have spoken to our resident Blades fan pundit Jimmy about these departures, and Jimmy is glad to see the back of the AI-driven transfer model: "Well, hopefully this is the closing of a terrible chapter for Sheffield United. The AI model overseen by James Bord has been an absolute disaster."

On the matter of Alex Matos, Jimmy sees the value in the player and is optimistic that a spell away from Bramall Lane could do both the player and the club some good: "I don't think Matos was necessarily an AI signing. I think he's the standout. We have paid money for him. He's got a decent pedigree, coming through at Chelsea, and did okay at Oxford and Huddersfield previously. So maybe if we loan him out he can retain some value and maybe then come back and do a job for Sheffield United or at least increase his value."

But on the other three players, Jimmy has little sympathy for anybody beyond Chris Wilder, who will have to be involved in another rebuild this month: "But the rest of them have been miles off it. Absolutely miles off it. And it's just been so disappointing that we've wasted a significant opportunity. Chris Wilder will be annoyed, but he wasn't at the club so there's no responsibility on his shoulders for any of these, and he'll just be as frustrated as the rest of us. But the rebuild starts this month. Let's see what he can do."

Sheffield Wednesday fans may be nervous over the failure of the AI-driven model at Bramall Lane

There can be little doubting that last summer was a disastrous one for Sheffield United, with the signings of Alex Matos, Mihail Polendakov, Christian Nwachukwu and Ehije Ukaki having clearly not worked out.

If anything, Matos has been the most successful of the four. He's made eight appearances for the Blades, of which three have been starts. Matos cost the Blades a reported fee of around £1 million when he arrived at the club on transfer deadline day.

But the other three players have only managed one first-team appearance between them all season, and that was Ehije Ukaki's appearance for them in their 2-1 defeat against Birmingham City in the Carabao Cup in August. Their departures from the club may not even be noticed by many Blades fans.

James Bord, who oversaw all of this, is now the preferred bidder for Sheffield Wednesday, which may please Sheffield United fans more than the performances of some of the players that his model chose during the summer.

Wednesday fans will be hoping that Bord doesn't look to employ a similar model at Hillsborough should he complete a takeover of their club, or at that at least his model works better next time around, based on his previous record on the other side of the city at Bramall Lane.