The Star's Sheffield United writer Danny Hall speaks to sports editor Chris Holt on the state of play in the transfer window as we reach the half way point in January with no signings as yet but with plenty going on behind the scenes.
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00:00So Dally, right back at the very start of the window, the two names who were prevalent
00:04were Ben Brerton and Hans O'Trowdry. The implication at the time were that they were,
00:12I wouldn't say nailed on, but Sheffield United certainly seemed like they were favourites to get
00:22these two players if they were going to be moving and the expectation was it would probably be done
00:26by now. So here we are on the 16th of January and nobody's in yet. What's happened there?
00:33Yeah, I think you're right there in the expectation. I think that was Chris Wilder's
00:36expectation as well. You know, he was quite open with us in the media and his press conferences
00:41saying, you know, we'll have two or three bodies in before Norwich, which is this weekend,
00:46as we know, and as we stand here on Thursday afternoon, I think it is, I'm losing track of
00:50days again. You're right, there's been no incomings as of yet. I still think there's
00:56confidence that they'll get delivered, but, you know, at the same time, they are not. And I think
01:00this is something to commend them about as well, because they're not just putting all their eggs
01:05in that particular basket. You know, that's something that they've been accused of before.
01:10I think every club probably accuses their club of doing that, but obviously with Sheffield United,
01:14we see it a little bit more closely, don't we? I think that's been a criticism of them before,
01:19where they've spent too long chasing one particular player than if for whatever reason,
01:24because, you know, sometimes with the best player in the world, deals just don't happen sometimes.
01:29And if that were to happen, and they spend the whole window chasing Brayton Dears, for example,
01:34and had no alternative options, then people would be saying, you know, why is that? Why did you put
01:40all your eggs in that basket? So, I think they've been sensible in spreading themselves a little bit
01:45in terms of not just focusing on those particular players. I still think they are confident
01:50that the deals get done. It's just the slowness of the transfer window. I mean,
01:57speaking to someone earlier, and they said that across the league, there's been just over a dozen
02:01deals across the entire division so far. You know, it's been slow across the board really,
02:06and that always has the knock-on effect of, you know, when a club signs a player,
02:12you know, one of theirs becomes available, that knocks on someone else. And it's sort of a snowball
02:17effect, isn't it? So, I think everyone's just sort of waiting for the window to sort of just
02:22crank up really. But we know there's some negotiation with Brayton Dears at Southampton
02:29about, you know, the sort of terms of that deal. They're open for him to leave on loan.
02:34He wants to leave on loan or he wants to go to United. As we've said, you know, we are,
02:40you know, reporting that he is the, sorry, the United are the number one target for him. You
02:44know, if he goes anywhere, it will be Sheffield United, he's told Southampton that. You know,
02:50so it's a case for them now of whether they let that happen or they have a potentially unhappy
02:56player sat around who's not in the squad, you know, kicking his heels for the last, you know,
03:00the next six months. So, from that point of view, for me, it's a no-brainer, isn't it,
03:06from my perspective. But as in these deals, there's always, you know, finer details,
03:10there's obligations, there's options, there's, you know, further discussions about what will
03:14happen if United get promoted. Will they be obligated to buy him? Will they have an option
03:18to buy him? Will they have no, you know, sort of future, you know, claim over him at all?
03:25That's all being discussed at the minute. And that's just what's sort of holding up the deal
03:29at the minute. And I understand it's similar with Hamza as well, that Leicester, you know,
03:33will ease a little bit closer to their team. As we've seen in the squad list, he's actually been
03:38in the squad of late. But I think they're still open for him to go out and play some football
03:43and get some minutes. It's just a case of just sort of crossing the T's and dotting the R's on
03:49that one. Again, in terms of what happens if United go up in the summer, you know, do they
03:53have to buy him? Do they have the option to buy him? Or can they just send it back and say,
03:57Hamza, you've done your job, son. Thanks for having, you know, thanks for coming. It's been
04:01a pleasure and good luck in the future. So, yeah, I have a little bit of sympathy for United on this
04:06one, you know, in terms of everyone thinks, oh, they're being slow, they're taking the mick,
04:11you know, they're doing this, they're doing that. And they are working, they are doing
04:16their side of things, you know. At the end of the day, when you're searching for loans,
04:20the power is with the club that owns these players, isn't it? It's not like you can go,
04:25right, here's £6 million for him, we'll go and take him. You know, there has to be a bit of a
04:30dance, doesn't there, between all the parties. So, I think it's just a case of being patient.
04:37It's not always the easiest thing in a January transfer window when you want players in yesterday.
04:41And United are frustrated about that as much as anyone because, you know, Chris Wilder would
04:45have wanted these players in last week, the week before, you know, probably on the 1st of January.
04:49That's just the way that managers work. But there is work going on behind the scenes to get both
04:56those players done. And if they can't get those players done, importantly as well, there are
04:59others in the pipeline as well. We talked about a couple today, which I'm sure we'll talk about.
05:04But yeah, there is work ongoing and there's confidence that, you know, there'll be players in
05:10relatively soon.
05:14So, that is a midfielder and a kind of left-sided attacker. As far as a, what we would call a
05:24probably old-fashioned striker, certainly a centre-forward…
05:28A number nine.
05:29A number nine, yeah.
05:31And Tom Cannon is a player who Sheffield United are interested in, as reported by yourself.
05:40He is wanted elsewhere by a number of clubs. Where are we with this one?
05:48Yeah, that's become a little bit of a saga a little bit, hasn't it? It sort of blew up a
05:53little bit this week with, you know, United. United's interest is an open secret. You know,
05:58they wanted him in the summer on loan from Leicester. They couldn't quite get a bid together
06:04with all the ownership stuff going on in the background. So, you know, that's not the biggest
06:08surprise that they went back in for him, you know, this summer, this winter, sorry. And then,
06:13as always happens, everybody else seems to jump on the bandwagon, don't they, as well,
06:18with all the different clubs that are said to be interested in him as well. I'm not surprised
06:21because his record is decent for a stoke team that, in fairness, don't create bucket loads of
06:27chances, as we've seen. Yeah, and I think he'll be a good player. Some of the figures being banded
06:35about are interesting. I don't believe, from what I've heard from a few people speaking to,
06:40that it's quite the numbers that have been banded about from a United point of view.
06:46You know, I've seen like 13, 15, 15 million, those sort of numbers guaranteed.
06:51And again, there's all sorts of how much do we pay now? How much do we pay if we go up?
06:55You know, ultimately, it might come down to Leicester accepting bids and saying to Tom,
07:01listen, you go and decide where you want to play football. It might come down to Leicester
07:06looking at it and going, you know, if Sunderland want to pay X amount now and X amount if they
07:11get promoted, who's more likely to get promoted to the Premier League this season? You know, these
07:15are all things that they will be wrestling with. You know, what's their situation like with
07:21USB, FFP, whatever that is now in terms of, you know, getting money in? What's their situation
07:27like with that? Can they afford to hold out until the summer to get a few more quid in the bank?
07:31These are all things that play into it. You know, it's not a case of just typing in Tom
07:36Cannon in Football Manager and pressing buy, you know, and getting the deal done,
07:40you know, within seconds. These things are complex negotiations, but I think there is a
07:46sense of confidence that that will get done from a United perspective, I think, in terms of Tom
07:51Cannon. And yeah, I think that'll be, I mean, if you look at that, those three or four players,
07:57if you get in Reds and Diaz, Chowdhury is their top target and Tom Cannon up front,
08:02that suddenly puts a very, very different slant on the squad, doesn't it? When you add in,
08:06you know, Raksaki, coming back, Souza, Campbell, Sirique, I've lost track of who else is injured
08:12because there's been that many of them recently. Suddenly, you know, Chris could be ending this
08:16month with essentially almost, you know, double figures new players in terms of the players
08:22coming back and the new ones coming in. So, yeah, we understand Tom Cannon is a live one.
08:29There's confidence that gets done, but that's always, you know, subject to the usual caveats
08:34and things can change very quickly. You know, if Sunderland come and pull a few more quid from
08:38somewhere and put it down, then, you know, he suddenly might be going further up the A1. So,
08:43it's just one to keep an eye on. But yeah, I think there is a feeling there that, you know,
08:48United are pretty strong in that particular race for that number nine.
08:54Back in midfield, two very interesting reports filed by yourself again, Danny, today,
09:00Thursday that is. On Wednesday night, we learned that Sheffield Wednesday midfielder,
09:05on loan midfielder, Shea Charles was being recalled by Southampton. And no sooner had we
09:12been told that, I mean, it was literally less than 12 hours. Sheffie and I have been linked
09:18with him by yourself. Along with, shortly after that, another player well known in these parts,
09:26Tommy Doyle, who of course had a very impressive loan spell in the last promotion team under Paul
09:35Higginbottom. Where are we at with that? Yeah, the Shea Charles one was interesting. I mean,
09:41if you take away the whole Wednesday aspect of this, you know, that's obviously been the
09:46eye-catching part of this story that sort of developed over the last 12 hours, whatever it's
09:51been. But this is essentially United looking at a midfielder, which they need, who's gone out on
09:59loan and impressed by all accounts. He's been really good at Wednesday, he's really impressed
10:05and caught the eye there, who's now returned back and may be available. So in many ways,
10:10it's a no-brainer, isn't it? I think there's been a section of the people reading this story,
10:15assuming that it's just some sort of banter thing that we'll just try and sign a player
10:19because he's been good at Wednesday. Take that out of it. This is an international player,
10:24as you well know, who's impressed on loan out there in Wednesday. He knows the division,
10:31he's playing importantly, he's fit, he's in form and he might be available. I mean, the fact that
10:37he's been recalled from Wednesday does add an extra bit of spice to it all. I can't lie and
10:42say it doesn't, but it makes a lot of sense. It ticks a lot of boxes, is what I think of that
10:50particular move. And then the Tommy Doyle one's interesting as well. It all just goes back to the
10:54point before about not just going all in on one particular target. Hamza Choudhury is, we understand,
11:02the top target. He's the main man that they want in this window. But again, if that doesn't happen
11:07for whatever reason, they need alternatives. And they're not too bad alternatives, by the way,
11:12Shea Charles and Tommy Doyle, a player that United Knights know a lot about from that spell two years
11:19ago, was it? I lose track of seasons again. And he was brilliant in that season. Started off as
11:25back-up to our man, Ollie Norwood, didn't he? And then sort of gradually established himself.
11:32That goal against Blackburn is still one of the best moments in recent United history.
11:36And he really seemed to, he didn't really seem to, he really bought into it as well.
11:40He wasn't just a Man City player on loan at Sheffield United for a season, go back and
11:46then, you know, think, you know, there's better things for me elsewhere. You know, he really 100%
11:52bought into it while he was here. And that was reciprocated the other way as well. You know,
11:56he's a really popular man with the fans, with the staff and with us as well in the media.
12:02You know, he was a good talker as well as a good player. So it makes a lot of sense. I see a bit of
12:08not criticism, but a few things about, you know, can United not sign a player they've not had
12:12before or not been interested in before. But to me, in this situation where you need players to
12:18come in, hit the ground running, again, it ticks a lot of boxes because he knows, he knows what
12:23makes his club tick. There's no sort of acclimatisation to it if you sign a player from
12:27abroad or whatever, where they have to bed into the league and, you know, the country for a while.
12:32He can come in, hit the ground running, know what it's all about, know what it takes to be a Sheffield
12:36United player, which is important. And yeah, I think it'd be either of those three would be,
12:42would be an excellent move. It's good to have those options. But like I say, I think Hamza
12:47Choudhury will be the top or the most pressing target. But like I say, it's good that, you know,
12:54they're not just chucking all their eggs in that basket. And there are options and good options as
12:59well. You know, there's not a great drop off there. You know, any one of those three would
13:04improve Chris Wyler's options. And it'd just give him that bit of, just give him a decision to make
13:11because there's too often this season where he's not, you know, if you're fit in midfield, you play
13:15because there's no one else at the minute. Tom Davies is running on fumes. Siddy Peck, I mean,
13:20I was tired watching him at Watford last time out, so I don't know how he felt that night.
13:25So, yeah, it'd just be good to have those options again when Vinny Souza comes back.
13:29You know, does he play Gus Homer a bit deeper if Brereton Diaz comes in? You know, there's all
13:32those questions, but Chris Wyler will be delighted with that because they're exactly the sort of
13:38options and the sort of headaches that you want as a manager, aren't they?
13:42Finally, going to the back, the injury to Harry Seder has been a massive blow,
13:51mainly because of how good he's been. He's been absolutely superb at the back for United this
13:55season in his loan. And it's obviously given another, a bit of a headache. They've had to
14:03bring in another defender as well. We have heard there's interest in Nottingham Forest youngster
14:10Andrew Omobamadeli. What do we know about that very quickly?
14:16Yeah, again, another former target he was looked at when he was at Norwich before he went to Forest
14:21a few years back. International footballer again, you know, isn't playing at Forest,
14:27so he's available, takes a lot of boxers. There's also an interesting opportunity there
14:32to sign a right back. You know, we've seen the John Joe Kenny story come out recently,
14:38which would then free up Alfa Gilchrist to be sort of central defensive cover slash competition.
14:46I think Chris might, in an ideal world, sign a right back and another centre half
14:50because, you know, Femi Sariki has been brilliant, but he is still a young man,
14:54you know, he's learning his trade at this level. So I think just to
14:59bolster out the options, I think Chris would take that if he can. But yeah,
15:05your man at Forest there would be a good option. You know, he had pedigree at Norwich,
15:11you know, Leeds are after him as well. So there's obviously a player there and United need someone
15:17to help and just get off the line with a bit of championship experience. So, yeah, that's the
15:22thing that you can see at every single one of these links. You look at it and you go,
15:26that makes a lot of sense. You know, there's no random... Chris said last week about your man
15:30from the Venezuelan league. You know, there's no random link that doesn't make any real sense.
15:35You know, they're all tried and tested championship players. They know the league,
15:39they know what it takes to get out of this league. And if they can get their top targets, then,
15:45yeah, I don't want to put my mortgage on it, but they'll be a lot stronger than they currently are.