Sheffield United eyeing Cardiff City transfer raid as Cian Ashford exit stance emerges | OneFootball

Sheffield United have reignited their previously-held interest in the Cardiff City forward Cian Ashford, but the Bluebirds insist he's not for sale.

Bottom of the Championship Sheffield United have reignited their previous interest in a young Cardiff City forward, but the Bluebirds are insistent that he's not for sale.

A terrible start to the season has led to some frantic action in the transfer market this week from Sheffield United. The Blades have lost all three of their Championship games so far, as well as having been knocked out of the EFL Cup. New manager Ruben Selles is already starting to come under pressure.

Sheffield United have brought in Ben Godfrey, Danny Ings and Nils Zatterstrom in the last week alone, and they don't seem to be done quite yet, with a previously held interest in a young Cardiff City forward having been reignited as they seek to finally kick-start their season.

Sheffield United have reignited their interest in Cardiff City's Cian Ashford

TEAMtalk's Darren Witcoop has reported on the social media platform X that Sheffield United's interest in the Cardiff City forward Cian Ashford has reignited, but that Bluebirds are insistent that the 21-year-old starlet is not for sale and will be staying at their club.

The Blades first had an interest in Ashford in January, with Witcoop reporting that they made an "initial enquiry" at that point, and it was also separately reported by Wales Online that Ashford could be sent out on loan. But the player ended up staying at The Cardiff City Stadium for the second half of the season, and he's now run up a total of 38 League appearances for the club.

Ashford, once a highly-rated prodigy within Cardiff's youth ranks, has gradually developed into an important first-team performer for his boyhood side. The winger has started four of the Bluebirds' opening five encounters under new head coach Brian Barry-Murphy, who has the outfit sitting atop of the League One table, and has scored twice this season against Rotherham United in the league and Swindon Town in the EFL Cup first-round.

Sheffield United, who still benefit from Premier League parachute payments, are now understood to be back with an interest in taking Fraser to Bramall Lane. But it seems likely that this will be a significant challenge. Cardiff City are reported to be in no mood to sell the player on, and in a follow-up post on X Witcoop added that there was nothing to suggest that Ashford wanted to move on, either, and that heads might only be turned by an offer of "silly money."

Cian Ashford has developed a habit of drawing attention to himself at Cardiff City

Cian Ashford first came to Sheffield United's attention in January 2024 in the most direct way possible; by scoring an outstanding winning goal against them in the FA Cup third-round that month.

But that goal wasn't the first time that he had made a splash. When he made his full League debut - following two appearances as a substitute - for Cardiff against Southampton in April 2024, he marked the occasion by scoring a 96th-minute winner from 25 yards infront of the Canton Stand.

And while he seems to be a scorer of great goals rather than a great scorer of goals - he only scored two in 28 in the League for them last season - his contribution is such that all signs are that Cardiff will fight tooth and nail to keep him.

Sheffield United's situation could, if not successfully addressed, become more urgent than it is now. Their parachute money this season is lower than it was last year, and it would be lower again next season were they to fail to go up this time around. They're not in the sort of position that their cross-city rivals Sheffield Wednesday are at the moment, but this start to the season was not in their script and needs to be corrected.

But there are few indications that Cian Ashford will be leaving for Bramall Lane in the next few days. He's been with Cardiff City since he was six years old, and there have been no signs of him wanting to leave. Meanwhile, Cardiff have been aware of Sheffield United's interest in the player since January and have given no indication of wanting to give him. Securing this signing could be a tough nut for the Blades to crack.