Sheffield United

Sheffield United

Championship

EXCLUSIVE: Sheffield United win race to sign highly-touted midfielder

Paul Heckingbottom Sheffield United

Championship club Sheffield United have won the battle to land highly-rated non-league ace Jili Buyabu.

The 18-year-old midfielder has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Blades, having been with Isthmian League Premier Division Hornchurch.

Buyabu is highly thought of in non-league circles and actually trained with Chelsea earlier this year.

Now we can reveal that Paul Heckingbottom’s men have beaten a host of Championship rivals to seal a deal for Buyabu.

The youngster, who was previously at Crystal Palace, has notched three goals and added four assists this season.

He will join a Blades side currently sitting 13th in the Championship, six points off the play-off spots.

West Ham target Blades loanee

Meanwhile, West Ham are interested in signing Sheffield United loanee Ben Davies in January, per a report.

Davies was the first signing of the Slavisa Jokanovic era. The 26-year-old signed on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool in the summer. Featuring in 14 Championship games this season, he’s been a key figure in United’s backline.

Ben K Davies Sheff Utd loan September 2021

The centre-back featured 145 times for Preston before getting his move to Liverpool for £1.1million last January.

However, he’s yet to make an appearance for the Reds’ first team. Due to this, the Hammers’ interest could see Davies make a return to top-flight football once again.

According to the Sun, David Moyes has the centre-back listed as one of his targets for the January transfer window. A list that includes James Tarkowski and fellow forgotten Liverpool man Nat Phillips.

The interest in Davies is because Angelo Ogbonna is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury.