Sheffield United backed to re-sign Southampton star Ben Brereton Diaz | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield United fan pundit shares their thoughts on the prospect of re-signing Ben Brereton Diaz this summer

Sheffield United endured a tough campaign and will be playing Championship football once again next season, but must first contend with a big rebuild this summer in South Yorkshire.

The 2025/26 campaign won't be remembered especially fondly by Sheffield United supporters, with the Blades ending the season in 13th place and a mighty 30 points off last year's tally.

Indeed, under Chris Wilder, Sheffield United amassed 90 points during the 2024/25 season, which would have been enough to secure automatic promotion in almost any other year if it weren't for both Leeds United and Burnley reaching 100 points each.

They'd miss out on Premier League football in the play-off final to Sunderland, and Wilder was subsequently dismissed and replaced by Ruben Selles, who oversaw, at best, a messy summer window.

The Spaniard was dismissed after just six games, losing each of them, and Wilder returned to the helm. The 58-year-old guided the Blades to safety after a disappointing start, but faces an even trickier task of rebuilding the squad in the upcoming window.

Reinforcements in attacking areas will almost certainly be a high priority, and Wilder may look to strike a return for a former loan star who is set to leave Southampton this summer.

Ben Brereton Diaz has just enjoyed a successful loan spell with Derby County, in which he made 40 second-tier appearances under John Eustace at Pride Park, scoring seven and assisting three, and is set to return to Southampton this summer.

The Stoke-on-Trent-born Chilean international has spent two short spells on loan with Sheffield United previously, the first from Spanish side Villarreal during the second half of the 2023/24 season, scoring six goals in 14 Premier League appearances. The second came in the second half of the 2024/25 season from Southampton, whom he joined for £7 million in the summer of 2024, either side of his two loan spells at Bramall Lane.

Now, a permanent exit from the Saints, who are set to face their own off-field troubles this summer, looks to be inevitable, and Football League World's Sheffield United fan pundit, Jimmy, has shared their thoughts on the possible return of Brereton Diaz, 27, to Bramall Lane, and whether his addition is the sort of thing the club should be looking to do this summer.

Jimmy said: "I think Blades will be split on this one, if I'm honest. I would quite like to see Ben Brereton Diaz back, and there's a few reasons.

"I think he's a good Championship player. I don't think he's ever quite hit the heights that he did while he was at Blackburn, although he played well for us in his first spell in terms of output.

"Second spell, he didn't really hit the same heights, but he wasn't really playing in his favoured position out on the left-hand side because Gus Hamer has been playing there for a long period for us now. If Gus Hamer stays, we're looking to move him more centrally, if reports are to be believed.

"So we're looking for a left-sided forward, and Ben Brereton Diaz's output in the Championship is good. So I wouldn't mind it at all if he were to come back to Bramall Lane.

"Whether we could still compete with the level of wages he's looking at, I'm not entirely sure. But if we can get a good deal, I wouldn't be against it, particularly now that we've lost parachute payments, and we have to look at more realistic signings at the level."

Chris Wilder faces a huge task of rebuilding Sheffield United this summer and Ben Brereton Diaz would be an excellent addition

With parachute payments set to run out this summer, Sheffield United will have a mightily trickier task at breaking into the top six next season, and will need to raise funds through outgoings to make additions.

The likes of Andre Brooks, Gus Hamer, Femi Seriki, and Sydie Peck have all been linked with moves away from South Yorkshire, though whether anything will come to fruition over any potential deals remains to be seen.

Brereton Diaz has previously hinted at his desire to remain with Derby, saying: "When I knew that I could go out on loan, and Derby was a choice, it was a no-brainer.

"They’re a great club and, in the past, I played against them and the supporters and everything like that, so I thought it was a great fit for myself, and obviously, speaking to the gaffer, it was really good

Meanwhile, Eustace has also opened up on bringing the Chilean international back, saying: "He's shown his level of commitment, just turning up and playing for us when he's going through pain.

"I think he wants to be part of the club and fingers crossed we can get that done."