Sheffield United tipped to face summer transfer interest in £5m star | OneFootball

FLW's Blades fan pundit expects summer interest in Anel Ahmedhodzic.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sheffield United had a strong January transfer window as they looked to strengthen their chances of securing automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

The Blades added several new faces, with the likes of Tom Cannon, Ben Brereton Diaz and Rob Holding all arriving at the club and bringing more genuine top quality to the squad.

However, it was perhaps even more important that Chris Wilder and his team made it through the window without losing any of their key players.

Ismaila Coulibaly and Anis Ben Slimani were the only men to leave Bramall Lane on a permanent basis, but with just three Championship appearances between them this season, neither will be sorely missed.

However, that could prove to be different in the summer. If United fail to get promoted back into the top flight, it could result in top clubs circling around some of their better players.

Sheffield United must expect interest in Anel Ahmedhodzic this summer

Some of that interest could be mitigated if Wilder can lead the Blades back to the Premier League. However, given some of the performances put in by his side this term, he could still face a battle to keep some of his key men.

Interest from other clubs isn’t an uncommon thing for successful teams, but the last thing Wilder will want on his hands in the summer is a significant rebuild, no matter which division United end up in.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s resident Blades fan pundit, Jimmy, to find out which United player he expects will attract the most transfer interest in the summer.

While there are several names he expects to catch the eye of other clubs, there was one man in particular whose contract situation represents an added concern for the club.

Jimmy said: “In terms of attracting interest in the summer, I think it will really depend on which division we’re in. Because I expect us to certainly get interest in players like Oliver Arblaster as, despite his injury, he’s going to be a Premier League player undoubtedly.

“But if we don’t get promoted, there will be interest in Anel Ahmedhodzic, who will only have a year left on his contract at that stage. There will be interest in Vini Souza and Gus Hamer, who won’t want another year in the Championship.

“If we do get promoted, we’ve still got to work out Anel’s contract situation – hopefully he will be willing to negotiate with us showing the ambition we have this January.

“But there will still be people in for our players, because every club that’s successful will attract interest around their squad. So, it’s not always a bad thing to get interest in your players.”

Ahmedhodzic has been excellent for Sheffield United this season

It goes without saying that Ahmedhodzic’s contract situation is something that the Blades will want to seek assurances on as quickly as possible.

The Bosnian centre half, who cost the Blades little over £5m, has been a vital component of Wilder’s side once again this season. While the 25-year-old is prone to the odd moment of madness (like his sending off against Coventry back in November for grabbing the throat of Norman Bassette), he is certainly a player who is more than capable of playing at Premier League level.

Ahmedhodzic has been excellent within a Blades backline that has conceded just 22 league goals all season. While they will obviously hope to keep him next season no matter what league they are in, if the club can find out his long-term intentions, it could make more sense to cash in on him this summer.

If it looks as though the defender wishes to depart Bramall Lane at the end of his deal, logic would suggest United may be better of trying to recoup some of the “substantial undisclosed fee” they paid Malmö for his services back in 2022.