At the end of last season, following their loss to Sunderland in the play off final, Sheffield United found themselves with a big decision to make. Do they stick with manager Chris Wilder, a man who knows the club inside and out, is actually a fan of the club and amassed 90 Championship points last season (which would’ve been 92 if not for a points deduction), or do they move on to someone knew?
Managerial Change At Sheffield United
In something of a controversial choice, the Blades decided to sack Wilder and replace him with former Hull and Reading boss Ruben Selles, a relatively inexperienced manager who has done very well given the circumstances at the clubs that he has managed. So far, this decision has not seemed to be a good one.
United currently find themselves rock bottom of the Championship with zero points and only one goal to their name. Despite a poor start, most of the criticism has been directed at the clubs’ transfer business rather than Selles.
Departures and Arrivals
Two of Sheffield United’s better players, midfielder Vini Souza and centre back Anel Ahmedhodzic, left for nearly £20m and it is only recently that the club have attempted to replace them. Nils Zatterstrom, Ben Godfrey and Japhet Tanganga have joined the clubs’ centre back options, which really only consisted of Tyler Bindon and Jack Robinson.
Left back Rhys Norrington-Davies would fill in at centre back for the first game of the season, at home against Bristol City. Bristol City would go on to win 4-1.
Tanganga is one of the best centre backs in the Championship, but they have reportedly paid up to £10m including add-ons for his services. It is interesting to note that Tanganga did have a release clause in his contract of less than £2m which could only be triggered by Premier League clubs.
This begs the question, given Tanganga’s obvious ability, why did no one trigger it? Zatterstrom joins from Swedish club Malmo for less than £3m.
He is only 20 and already has a cap for the Swedish senior team. Ben Godfrey is the most interesting one for me.
During his time at Norwich, Godfrey was a shining light in a side that was never able to make the step up to the Premier League, going on to join Everton during the 2020/21 season. In the three seasons following this he was used sparingly by the Toffees before making the move to Atalanta in 2024.
After only five appearances in Italy, the defender would be on the move once again, this time to newly promoted Ipswich Town. He only make 5 appearances for the Tractor Boys as they were relegated and now, he finds himself in Sheffield.
Godfrey could certainly be an asset this season, especially given his ability to play anywhere across the back four. We will have to wait and see what Selles’s preferred centre back pairing will be, given the players that he now has at his disposal.
I would predict that he will go with Bindon and Tanganga, for the time being at least. In order to try and improve their goalscoring capabilities, United have brought in veteran Danny Ings on a free transfer.
Ings was linked with Wrexham and later Middlesborough, but nothing materialised. In years gone by, Ings has been a prolific goal scorer, particularly during his time with Southampton, but since moving to West Ham 3 seasons ago, he hasn’t played a lot of football, so it will be interesting to see if the 33-year-old has still got it.
It is impossible to argue with the fact that Sheffield United should be doing much better than they are at the moment. They arguably have the best goalkeeper in the league in Michael Cooper, arguably the best midfielder in the league in Gustavo Hamer as well as several bright talents such as Ollie Arblaster and Sydie Peck.
The players that they have brought in recently are good players, but given the clubs’ start to the season, something about them does seem slightly panicked. Selles has to improve things and quickly, with the transfer window closing on the 1st of September.
One thing is for sure; they need to buy a replacement for Souza. Also, last season, they had seven players in on loan, giving themselves strength and depth in several positions.
Thus far, only three players have come in on loan, so this is an avenue that they could explore further.
