Sheffield United ace closing in on Bramall Lane exit - He's one of the top earners | OneFootball

Alex Matos looks to be on his way out of Bramall Lane, one year on from signing for the Blades from Chelsea

Sheffield United's squad exodus is set to continue throughout the summer, as Chris Wilder looks to trim a bloated squad ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

It's safe to say that last summer was a real mess at Bramall Lane, with the Blades sacking the popular manager following their play-off final defeat in favour of Ruben Selles, and then overseeing a truly damaging transfer window ahead of the new year.

The South Yorkshire side focused a lot of their deals that summer on younger stars with untapped potential, the majority of which were born out of the new AI recruitment model from owners COH Sports.

The return of Wilder just weeks into the new season after a winless start under Selles spelled the end for a lot of those younger players.

Loanees Louie Barry and Tyler Bindon were immediately left out, with the former returning to his parent club in January, while Nils Zatterstrom, Ehije Ukaki and Mihail Polendakov made a combined one senior appearance for the club last season, and the former two were loaned out midway through it.

It's expected that those three will be finding new clubs this summer, but one man's exit seems to be a reality in the coming days.

Alex Matos close to signing for Goztepe

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Alex Matos has had an incredibly unproductive debut campaign at Sheffield United, after arriving from Chelsea for £1 million last summer. The year before, he'd spent the latter half of the season at Oxford United in the second tier, but the 21-year-old couldn't kick on at Bramall Lane.

The midfielder made eight appearances for Chris Wilder's side last year, three of which were starts. He didn't see the pitch in 2026, and would make just two matchday squads throughout the current calendar year, too.

With the Blades boss looking to trim some of the fat from his squad this summer, a departure for Matos seems inevitable, and it seems that Turkey will be his next destination.

It was reported by Turkish journalist Resat Can Ozbudak on Sunday that Süper Lig outfit Goztepe had reached an agreement with Sheffield United over a loan deal, with a buy option, for the 21-year-old, and that has since been confirmed by the Sheffield Star.

The Star goes on to state that Matos is understood to be one of the higher-wage earners at Bramall Lane, so a departure should free up some much-needed wage budget for the Blades as they aim to add quality, despite their purse strings being tighter due to the lack of parachute payments from the Premier League.

Sheffield United are progressing in their pursuit of bringing back Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips on a season-long loan deal, who will join Joe Rothwell, Sydie Peck and Oliver Arblaster as midfielders who would be ahead of the departing Matos in the pecking order.

How Sheffield United fans are reacting to Alex Matos' exit news

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Matos didn't exactly make a lasting impression on Sheffield United fans in his debut year at Bramall Lane. Therefore, some Blades fans are happy to see the back of the 21-year-old this summer.

"Good! Up there with one of the worst signings we've had for many a year," one fan wrote. "Barely looked League One level when he got minutes for us last season," another added, who then questioned why a top-six side in Turkey would be interested in him.

Others were a bit more blunt in their assessment. "Good," one said. "Thank you, kind sir," another added in response to the rumours being broken online.

The sooner the 2025 summer transfer window can be forgotten at Bramall Lane, the better, and all the focus is on improving and getting the squad ready ahead of what is an incredibly important campaign for Chris Wilder's side.

There were a lot of players who weren't good enough to contribute last year, and Matos' move won't be the last arrival from last year who will be set to part ways 12 months later.