Sheffield United must simply get back to winning ways in the Championship on Good Friday or their promotion push will be significantly derailed once more.
Indeed, heading into this must-win fixture versus relegation-threatened Cardiff City at Bramall Lane, Chris Wilder’s Blades are now without a victory from their last three outings in the second tier, whilst Leeds United and Burnley continue to pull off results to push away inside the coveted top two.
Regardless of what fate awaits the South Yorkshire giants, this coming summer transfer window looks likely to be a busy one, with one defender already being linked to join Wilder’s ranks.
United's interest in new £15m man
The United boss will be well aware that a minor rebuild will need to take place when the window swings back open, owing to the multitude of loanees that currently call the Blades home, among other factors at play.
One problem area for the promotion chasers that will presumably be addressed is the centre-back department, with Rob Holding needing to be drafted in as a late arrival in January here to boost numbers, away from Wilder’s regulars.
United’s new chosen man could well be £15m-rated Sunderland centre-back Daniel Ballard, with reports recently revealing that there’s interest on the end of the South Yorkshire side involving the ex-Arsenal youth product.
With 112 Championship career games under his belt, the experienced 25-year-old would be a worthwhile addition to the Bramall Lane camp, but his sketchy injury record – which has seen him be sidelined for a weighty 26 games this season – could put off Wilder and Co forking out an excessive £15m.
Instead, alternative targets could be looked at, or Wilder might pull all his trust in this defensive star already at his disposal who is amazingly worth more than Ballard’s steep valuation.
The "dominant" United star worth more than Ballard
After all, the defender in question here can already boast Premier League experience with the Blades over Ballard’s EFL-centric career path, having tallied up 31 top-flight appearances to date.
Of course, Anel Ahmedhodzic won’t look back on his Premier League voyage with United fondly – considering his lowly side finished rock bottom of the pile at the end of the 2023/24 season – but he’s more than bounced back this campaign as Wilder’s men attempt to instantly return.
The “dominant” defender – as he was once lauded by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – has been a stalwart of his manager’s reinvigorated XI all season long, with this goal one of three goal contributions he’s managed to chip in with from 34 league clashes.
More importantly, over firing home crucial winners such as the one versus Middlesbrough, the Bosnian has also been a reliable brick wall when many a Championship side has bombed forward attempting to breach the Blades, with the 26-year-old colossus picking up a hefty 14 clean sheets along the way.
Matches played
34
Goals scored
2
Assists
1
Touches*
59.8
Accurate passes*
43.1 (90%)
Ball recoveries*
3.6
Clearances*
4.6
Total duels won*
3.9
Clean sheets
14
Value when joining
£5.1m
Value now
£20m
These regular standout showings – as can be seen glancing at his impressive numbers above – make United’s move to land the ex-Nottingham Forest man for just £5.1m back in 2022 look like a great steal, considering past transfer rumours surrounding Ahmedhodzic hint that he now has a £20m price tag above his head.
With Wilder also having the likes of experienced head Jack Robinson to call upon here, a splurge of £15m to land Ballard might not be deemed necessary after all, especially if other cheaper targets are out there.
Before any possible new faces enter through the door, however, United will be desperate to make their promotion dreams a reality, with Ahmedhodzic needing to remain rock solid during some crunch clashes to come.
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