Sheff Utd boss Wilder confident of signing in-demand Liverpool man
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder is confident of signing a striker on loan before the end of the transfer window.
Following the arrivals of Aaron Ramsdale, Max Lowe, Jayden Bogle and Oliver Burke on permanent deals and Ethan Ampadu on loan from Chelsea, Wilder declared it had already been the best transfer window since he joined the club in 2016.
He wants to do one more piece of business to “complete the set” and a striker is on the agenda. The PA news agency understands that Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster is Wilder’s number one target.
The Blades have held talks with the Premier League champions regarding the England Under-21 international but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has yet to make a decision on the future of Brewster, who spent the second-half of last season on loan at Swansea in the Championship.
“It will most probably be the loan market and we are waiting for dominoes to fall elsewhere. There is another one to complete the set, hopefully coming sooner rather than later, but if we have to wait then the wait will be worth it,” said Wilder.
“That’s the one we are speaking to at the moment. But there’s players on our list, whether they are loan or permanent, and like everybody, there’s a pecking order on that one.
“We’re confident that we can get the one that we want and if not we’re confident that there will be other players that will find Sheffield United an attractive proposition and they will be within our budget that we’ve had and the owners have given me.”
On the quartet who have already arrived at Bramall Lane, Wilder said: “Pound for pound when the window is shut and the players are in place, I will be delighted.
“I’d say that it has been the best transfer window we’ve had in my time at the club. We’ve had to be patient and there has been a lot of hard work done.
“But getting the other one is important. That will take us up to 25 players for the squad and complete our business.”
Wilder focused on Burke’s pace
Meanwhile, Sheffield United have completed their fourth signing of the week after clinching a deal for West Brom forward Oliver Burke which sees Callum Robinson move in the opposite direction.
West Brom describe the transfer as an “exchange deal”, while the Blades claim Robinson is moving to The Hawthorns as “part of the deal”.
Scotland international Burke has signed a three-year contract, following Derby pair Jayden Bogle and Max Lowe and a loan deal for Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu on Monday.
Burke made his professional debut for Nottingham Forest aged 17 before a high-profile move to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in 2016, only to return to England with the Baggies in a £15m deal a year later which broke his own record as the most expensive Scottish footballer.
However, he failed to establish himself in the West Brom team and, after loan spells at Celtic and Alaves, the 23-year-old will look to reignite his career at Bramall Lane.
“We needed a touch of pace and Oli certainly gives us that. We’ve been working on it for a few weeks and obviously we wish Callum (Robinson) all the best,” Blades boss Chris Wilder told the club’s website.