Sheffield United

Laura Kenyon
BBC Final Score reporter

Image source, PA Media

An early question has arisen for Sheffield United. Where will the goals come from this season?

Two opening games and they are yet to score a single goal in the league.

Just one shot on target in the opener against Birmingham. Only two on target in the 0-0 draw at Swansea on Saturday. Worrying stats.

The Blades were somewhat improved in Wales, with more chances created.

Callum O'Hare hitting the crossbar in the first half was probably the closest either side came to a breakthrough all game, but they still never looked clinical in front of goal.

The end of the transfer window looms – an opportunity for all clubs to add some attacking flair to their squads.

But for Sheffield United, it is an arbitrary deadline. Boss Chris Wilder has explained the club's position is "loans or frees" only, because of the off-pitch financial woes.

So the question remains. Just where will the goals come from?

No answers to be found, either on or off the pitch, for Blades fans in this early stage of the new season.

Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

Image source, Getty Images

What a mess. What must Sheffield United fans be thinking?

This was supposed to be a fresh start. A proper summer, to make up for the shambles of 12 months ago.

Instead what have we got? Claims that the current owners owe the former owners £35m - an amount that has never been disputed. Liquidators being called in. A mystery surrounding the next step.

Whenever something emerges from this story, such as the initial winding-up petition, the talk of a possible points deduction or possible repercussions from the EFL or Independent Football Regulator (IFR), the response is often dismissive. The current owners might as well be saying "nothing to see here".

Some fans have called it insulting and it's hard to disagree. Blades are reeling. Stressing. Wondering what happens next.

They deserve clarity.

Why are the current owners so dismissive? Do they intend, eventually, to pay whatever is owed and the story will go away? Their tone makes you want to believe that's the case but how can we know?

They've never done an interview. They communicate very little. It's often left up to the manager Chris Wilder or chief executive Stephen Bettis to face the music.

The uncertainty hangs over Bramall Lane like the darkest of dark clouds. It threatens to undermine the entire season too, a repeat of a year ago when the owners set up the team to fail under Ruben Selles before rushing back to recall Wilder to rescue the situation.

Let's park the possibility of points deductions for a second and just look at the squad. Midfielders Gus Hamer and Andre Brooks have been sold and need to be replaced and they need a defender.

For weeks the club has been linked to players like Harry Souttar and Anel Ahmedhodzic. Now reports suggest neither are likely to sign and the loan market will be the likely plan.

What's going on? Were they ever truly in for players of that calibre on permanent deals? What's happened to the money raised from the Hamer and Brooks sales? What is the financial situation at the club? Is the team just going to lapse into the middle of the pack, when the objective should be to avoid that at all costs?

The middle of the pack, of course, might be an achievement if a points deduction does end up happening.

Answers are needed here.

It can't be left for journalists to rock up to the next press conference and plead with Wilder for answers he probably can't give. The situation is too serious now to just let it fester whilst the liquidator does its job and we all wait to see what happens next.

There is a communications void that needs to be filled with some information, even if the words are not reassuring. United fans can handle the truth. They won't be able to handle silence.

At the moment the fans, the manager and the players are being let down. The club can't just drift along without anyone knowing what happens next.

The 2-1 victory at Stoke City last weekend was the first time Swansea have won their opening league game of a season in the past six years.

It is eight years since the Swans won their first two matches of an EFL campaign and they come up against a Sheffield United side who were held 0-0 at home by Birmingham City last weekend.

• Swansea City have won just one of their past eight league meetings with Sheffield United (D2 L5), though it was a 1-0 home win last season.

• Sheffield United failed to win either of their league games against Swansea City last term (D1 L1) but they have not gone three in a row without victory against the Swans over consecutive seasons since 1956-57/1957-58.

• Swansea have won each of their past two opening home games of a league campaign, including a 1-0 win over Sheffield United last season. The Swans last won more in succession between 1995-1999 (five wins).

• Sheffield United have won their first away game in just one of their past 14 league campaigns (D3 L10 since 2012-13), beating Preston North End 2-0 in 2024-25.

• On the opening day of the 2026-27 Championship season, Sheffield United recorded the fewest overall shots of any side (3), while also amassing a total of just 0.29 xG (Expected Goals) – their lowest in the league since registering 0.24 vs Leeds in October 2024.

Burnley and Southampton have moved ahead of Sheffield United in the race for £4m rated Bosnian defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, 27, who joined Feyenoord from the Blades last summer. (The Star, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United are eyeing a reunion with former defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, 27. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international left the Blades for Dutch side Feyenoord in 2025. (The Star), external

For more EFL transfer news, read Monday's full gossip column here.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield after his side's 0-0 draw with Birmingham City. For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Image source, Shutterstock

Sheffield United striker Tyrese Campbell has signed a new deal which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2028.

The 26-year-old joined the Blades in August 2024 and found the net 11 times in his first season with the club.

Last season was less productive in front of goal with the former Manchester City and Stoke player managing just six goals.

But manager Chris Wilder remains a big fan of the forward and has moved to tie him down to an extended stay at Bramall Lane.

Wilder told the club website, external: "Tyrese is an important player for us and our aim is to get him consistently back to the standards he set when he first walked through the door.

"A firing Tyrese Campbell is a major player for us and a major threat to the division, and if we can get him to those standards then there's no limit to what he can achieve here with us."

Image source, Opta

Sheffield United begin their Championship season with the visit of Birmingham to Bramall Lane on Saturday (17:30 BST).

Both teams began the campaign with a victory, the Blades winning 3-0 at Mansfield in the EFL Cup first round last weekend while Blues prevailed 1-0 at Swansea to reach round two.

Chris Wilder's side have lost five of their past six games on the opening day, including a 4-1 home humbling by Bristol City last season under Ruben Selles, while Chris Davies' men have drawn their past four curtain-raisers, with a 1-1 home draw against Ipswich last season.

• Sheffield United are unbeaten in their past five league games against Birmingham City (W3 D2), having failed to win any of the previous five meetings (D3 L2).

• Birmingham City have won just one of their past eight away league games against Sheffield United (D3 L4), with that victory coming on the opening day of the 2021-22 Championship season under Lee Bowyer (1-0).

• Only Leicester City (32) dropped more points from winning positions in the EFL Championship last season than Sheffield United (29), while the Blades lost five of their final nine matches at Bramall Lane last term (W2 D2).

• Only 20 of Birmingham City's 64 points in the EFL Championship were picked up away from home (31.3%), the lowest proportion in the competition last season.

• In the EFL Championship last season, Sheffield United (11) and Birmingham (11.1) had the two lowest passes per defensive action values, while only Ipswich Town (67) recorded more shot-ending high turnovers than the Blades (59).

Sheffield United are moving closer to the signing of Leicester City defender Harry Souttar, 27. The Blades are set to submit an improved offer of £10m plus add-ons for the Australian after the Foxes rejected a second bid of £8m. (John Percy, The Telegraph), external

Sheffield United have rejected a loan-to-buy offer for 20-year-old Scottish forward Ryan One from Rangers. (Ben Jacobs), external

For more EFL transfer news, check out Wednesday's full gossip column here.

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Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United's game at Mansfield looked tricky on paper.

The same opponents knocked them out of the FA Cup in January and they'll be a tough outfit in League One this season.

The Blades, though, swept them aside 3-0. Effective, dominant and comfortably through to the second round of the EFL Cup.

It showed that United are still capable this year, even with Andre Brooks now playing for Norwich and Gus Hamer going to Coventry.

But help is needed.

The finger needs to be pointed at the owners, COH Sports, after another summer that leaves more questions than answers.

Former owners, United World, are claiming they're owed £35m, with the prolific sports barrister Nick De Marco brought in to work on their case.

The current owners have played it all down – but what exactly is the situation?

Fans want to know what's going on. Is there money to spend?

The lack of clarity has meant that Chris Wilder has been left to address fan concerns. I had to ask him about the situation at the press conference last week. Not because I think he's well placed to reassure supporters – but simply because he's the only person at the club we can ask.

There's another bid in for Leicester defender Harry Souttar. If that deal is done for a good price, some of the concern will fade. It'd be a quality addition.

But in the aftermath of the Brooks and Hamer sales, only two new arrivals have come in – 34-year-old full-back Matt Doherty, who was a free agent after leaving Wolves, and forward Romelle Donovan, 19, on loan from Brentford.

The manager talks about waiting out the loan market. Where's the money from the sales?

The fans are doing their bit. They rocked up to Bochum, drank it dry and sang their hearts out.

I was at the meet-and-greet they did in a bar in the city. For two hours before the event began, the centre was serenaded by one United song after another.

The manager and players were welcomed as heroes. It was impressive and there was more of the same at the game.

The fans need a reason to believe. They need a reason to invest their faith in these owners. That happens by giving the manager the tools he needs to produce a good season.

If that isn't possible, it needs to be explained why. Not left for the manager to be put on the spot by journalists.

Is the money there? And if not, what then? What is the plan from the owners - short and long term?

It's not unusual for players like Brooks and Hamer to leave. One has gone for big money, the other had an expiring contract.

Yet this is a club that has become accustomed to being in the mix for the Premier League. It's very easy to drift into the status of Championship also rans. Once you end up there, you get stuck.

Everything must be done to avoid that happening.

It's the responsibility of the people running Sheffield United to avoid that fate.

It means getting the Souttar deal done, adding a replacement for Hamer and getting the extra body or two on top of that Wilder needs to enable the Blades to thrive.

Preston North End are targeting 23-year-old Sheffield United striker Tom Cannon and hope to bring the Republic of Ireland international back to Deepdale after a loan spell with the Lilywhites in 2023. (Football League World), external

For more EFL transfer news and rumours, read Monday's full gossip column here.

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Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says he expects midfielder Gus Hamer to rejoin newly-promoted Premier League side Coventry City.

The 29-year-old has scored 22 goals and provided 29 assists in 123 games in all competitions for the Blades since arriving from the Sky Blues in 2023.

Hamer, who was the Championship player of the season in 2024-25, has been strongly linked with a return to Coventry where he previously spent three years and Wilder has confirmed it is "100%" likely to happen.

"We have to move on - everybody, me, supporters, players. He was a special player for us and a big player. The decision for Gus to go, there are a lot of sides to it," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I don't think it's always as straightforward as people think it is, and we don't want players to run their contracts down, it's pretty simple.

"Coventry were one of the only teams that had come in for him. We'll move on, we have to find a replacement to fill that position.

"Cal [O'Hare] and Ryan [One] have played out there [against Mansfield]. Cal played out there last year when Gus didn't play for us and we had some good performances and results, but I see him more central."

Wilder said United chief executive Steve Bettis and the owners "know that we have to replace Gus with a really top player".

"I personally think we're in a good place. We're maybe two or three players off being in a better place, so I'll always push to do that," Wilder added.

"We've lost Gus, Andre [Brooks] went, so we have to move on and we have done. If we want good loans, we're going to have to be really patient.

"Clubs want players to go out on permanent deals and when they know they can't go out on permanent deals, then the loans become available."

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