Sheffield United tipped for double Leicester City raid - Chris Wilder is a 'big fan' | OneFootball

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has been tipped to line up a double-raid of Leicester City for two players he knows rather well

Sheffield United are poised to undertake a significant squad rebuilding process following the conclusion of the 2025/26 Championship campaign, which has played out to represent a bitterly-disappointing one for the Steel City outfit.

The Blades suffered a heart-wrenching defeat in last season's Championship play-off final against Sunderland and promptly relieved Chris Wilder of his duties, although the Yorkshireman was soon back at Bramall Lane to replace his successor in Ruben Selles after the ex-Hull City head coach lost each of his six matches in a disastrous short-lived reign.

United's recruitment throughout the summer window has come under the microscope from supporters all season, with the club failing to quite kick on following Wilder's return to the helm.

The season has now petered out into a frustrating mid-table finish for the Blades, who are positioned in 15th place with 57 points ahead of Saturday lunchtime's final-day trip to play-off chasing Derby County.

It's no surprise, then, that Wilder has long talked up the necessity of a seismic rebuild following a season marred by chronic underachievement once the summer months roll around, in which the 58-year-old will be afforded ample opportunity to re-stamp his authority on the squad as various incomings and outgoings beckon in equal measure.

Plans on that front already appear to be firmly underway, and recent reports have indicated that Wilder could well be primed to line up a double raid of League One-bound Leicester City for two players he knows all-too-well.

Chris Wilder tipped to eye double Leicester City transfer raid at Sheffield United

This latest update comes via an audit of the Foxes' squad from LeicestershireLive following the club's relegation to English football's third-tier, which was confirmed with a 2-2 draw against Hull last week and is now set to see a host of departures out of the King Power Stadium take place in the coming months.

Sweeping sales will be necessitated as part of a squad exodus, with numerous Leicester players unlikely to intend on sticking around in League One alongside City's own mission to drastically reduce the wage bill and recoup funds, and Sheffield United may well look to capitalise upon those factors.

The players in question are Harry Souttar and Hamza Choudhury, who both spent time on loan with the Blades during the 2024/25 campaign and are tipped to potentially move on this summer.

Souttar's case is an interesting one, with the towering Australian defender having played just one match of football since rupturing his Achilles tendon in December 2024 while on loan in South Yorkshire.

That injury curtailed his spell with Wilder's side and has virtually kept him out of action ever since, although the 27-year-old has now recently returned to full fitness after featuring for the first time in well over a year in the Foxes' 1-1 draw with Millwall last week.

It's said that Souttar will now be "set to go", with the report detailing how interest from the Blades and other Championship outfits could well be in order if he proves his fitness at this summer's FIFA 2026 World Cup with Australia.

Choudhury, meanwhile, has also been tipped to receive fresh interest, even if his situation feels somewhat more complex at this moment in time.

The 28-year-old made 16 league appearances throughout his loan to the Steel City in the second-half of the previous campaign before returning to Leicester's side following relegation to the Championship.

As per the report, Choudhury suggested to supporters right after relegation was confirmed that he won't be heading anywhere this summer, having spent the entirety of his senior career contracted to Leicester, although that doesn't necessarily mean his future is guaranteed to lie in the East Midlands ahead of a promotion push out of League One next season.

That's because the update additionally describes Wilder as a "big fan" of the midfielder, citing the possibility of a sale if United come calling with a bid this summer.

Sheffield United will have to conduct double Leicester City transfer raid under strict conditions

Much has been made of Sheffield United's impending summer recruitment, which is set to be done on a considerably-slimmer budget with the expiration of parachute payments now necessitating real tightening of the club's financial purse-strings.

Indeed, that's also poised to force United into sanctioning big sales and both Gus Hamer and Sydie Peck have been tipped for the exit door as Wilder seeks to balance the field and bring money back into the club to free up funds for fresh signings.

The Blades will, no doubt, be helped by Leicester's own position of having to sell assets at cut-price fees, which could pave the way for both Souttar and Choudhury to return to Bramall Lane on a permanent basis.

However, they will have to be shrewd, savvy and strict with these two potential deals, and any other moves that Wilder looks to broker throughout what's set to be an interesting, and hugely important, summer window.