The 4 Sheffield United players looking set for Bramall Lane exit in January | OneFootball

There are four players on loan at Sheffield United who could well leave the club this January

It's been a turbulent season at Sheffield United, with many of the Blades' deals not having come off the way that they would have hoped, and four of their loan agreements potentially being cancelled early.

It's been well-documented that this campaign hasn't been the one that many supporters of clubs in the EFL Championship would have expected from Sheffield United.

The Blades dismissed Chris Wilder following their defeat in the play-off final to Sunderland last season, replacing the Englishman with former Reading and Hull City head coach Ruben Selles.

The Spaniard oversaw a huge revamp of the squad, with important players from last campaign, including the likes of Vini Souza, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Kieffer Moore, Jack Robinson, and Rhian Brewster, all leaving the club.

Sheffield United sanctioned the deals of 14 new arrivals under the watch of Selles, including the five loan deals of Djibril Soumare, Tyler Bindon, Chiedozie Ogbene, Ben Godfrey, and Louie Barry, though none have lit up Bramall Lane as was hoped.

As it transpired, Selles was dismissed after just six games in charge, all ending in defeat, and Wilder was swiftly brought back to the club, though without a transfer window being afforded to him.

With the January window on the horizon, it's widely expected that Sheffield United will be among the most active sides in the market, with Wilder already having made the two free additions of Patrick Bamford and Jairo Riedewald.

With none of the loan deals, aside from possibly Soumare, having worked out, the other four could be on an early exit out of the Steel City this winter.

Tyler Bindon

New Zealand international Tyler Bindon joined the Blades on loan from Nottingham Forest this summer, having spent two seasons impressing for Reading in League One.

The centre-back spent six years in the academy of Los Angeles FC before moving to Reading in 2023, where his performances caught the attention of Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest, who signed Bindon in January 2025 before immediately loaning him back to the Royals.

Upon Selles' arrival in South Yorkshire this summer, the Spaniard made Bindon one of his first additions to the squad, but since his departure, has played just twice under Wilder, with Mark McGuiness, Japhet Tanganga, and Ben Mee all seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.

His lack of game time will almost certainly mean Forest won't want to keep him at the club, and an early recall seems like a highly likely option with January approaching.

Chiedozie Ogbene

Chiedozie Ogbene made the switch from newly-relegated Ipswich Town this summer to Sheffield United, joining the Blades on a season-long loan deal, having been made surplus to requirements in Suffolk.

The former Rotherham man spent nine months out of action after an Achilles tendon injury, barely featuring for the Tractor Boys in the top flight last season, and promptly left the club this summer to find some more game time.

Best utilised as a wing-back, Wilder has shifted to a four-man defensive system in recent weeks, leaving the Irishman out in the cold and without a place in the side.

If Wilder chooses to remain with that system, it leaves Ogbene without a natural position on the side. Although he is capable of playing off the right flank higher up the pitch, both Andre Brooks and Tahith Chong provide Wilder with enough competition in that role as it is.

It's been a torrid 18 months for Ogbene, who may be recalled this January to find another team that can best utilise him and can provide him with consistent football.

Ben Godfrey

The signing of Ben Godfrey this summer was, on the face of it, an excellent one for Sheffield United, but it relied on the centre-back remaining fit, something which he had struggled with in recent years.

The former Norwich City man has failed to make more than 20 appearances in a season since the 2021/22 campaign, falling out of favour at Everton before his move to Atalanta in the summer of 2024.

The defender failed to make an impression in Bergamo and would join Ipswich on loan in January 2025, but would make just three Premier League appearances before the Tractor Boys were relegated and Godfrey returned to Italy.

At a reported £75k per week, according to Capology, Godfrey's mammoth wage (whatever percentage is being paid) was always going to be hard to justify for Sheffield United, and so it has proved to be, with the 27-year-old having barely featured since his summer switch, and it's unlikely that he will remain a Blade beyond January.

Louie Barry

Louie Barry was tearing up League One this time last year with Stockport County, having scored 15 goals and grabbed three assists in the first half of the 2024/25 campaign with the Hatters.

Parent club Aston Villa recalled Barry, who then sent him back out on loan to Hull City in the Championship, then managed by Ruben Selles, but the Englishman would make just four appearances before damaging his knee cartilage, putting him out of action for the remainder of the campaign.

As he did with Bindon, Selles reunited with Barry on loan at Bramall Lane this summer, but following the Spaniard's dismissal, again, like Bindon, he has seen his game time significantly decrease, with an early recall almost a foregone conclusion.

Stoke City, Derby County, Oxford United, and Hull have all been reported to be interested in giving the Villa loanee an exit route out of Bramall Lane, but whatever his destination will be, it's almost certain he won't spend the rest of the season as a Blade.