'High-profile' players to join Blades within dayspublished at 10:47 21 July
10:47 21 July
Media caption,
Sellés: 'The team is working really hard'
Sheffield United boss Ruben Selles says he expects to see a number of "high-profile" players, including Aston Villa forward Louie Barry, join the club within the next week.
The Spaniard worked with Barry last season at Hull City after the 22-year-old joined on loan during the January transfer window following an impressive spell with League One side Stockport County.
"I expect to have a couple of players in the next two to five days," Selles told BBC Radio Sheffield following Saturday's 5-0 pre-season win over Rotherham.
"Louie has been there, we know him really well. We will see what happens.
"I don't want numbers to complete a squad, I want quality. The boys that we are working on will be, in my opinion, high-profile players."
It's not just incoming players, though, that he will need to have his eye on.
Midfielder Gus Hamer has been linked with a potential move to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven but Selles doesn't want to see the 28-year-old leave Bramall Lane.
"I want to keep Gustavo with us. I think he has been fantastic for the club; his performances, his way to play, his quality and how decisive he is the league," he added.
"We know the market is fluid and things can happen but our main target will be to keep him."
Blades looking positive in Spanish sunpublished at 16:17 11 July
16:17 11 July
Rob Staton BBC Radio Sheffield reporter
Image source, BBC Sport/Getty Images
Sheffield United spent the past week in Girona taking part in a warm-weather training camp.
I was able to spend Thursday and Friday observing the sessions, led by new manager Ruben Selles.
The conditions were very hot and humid with the Spaniard opting for a longer session in the morning rather than splitting things up throughout the day.
We saw exhaustive pressing drills in the heat, passing sequences, a lot of transition work plus a focus on set-pieces.
Players would then spend some time in the gym. During downtime, some played golf while others preferred the increasingly popular padel tennis.
Oliver Arblaster, the highly impressive young midfielder returning from injury, spoke positively about his hope of being back for the start of the season.
Callum O'Hare and Harrison Burrows spoke of channelling play-off disappointment into an attempt to go one better this season.
The manager reiterated his desire to produce an "intense" style of play. All of the players we spoke to were complimentary of the manager's style after their first few weeks together.
Selles spoke confidently about keeping key players such as Gus Hamer and Michael Cooper. He also acknowledged that while money could be available for the right signing, United are mostly looking at loans and free agents at the moment.
Clearly new additions are necessary but it's in the loan and free window where the Blades have had a lot of success in their recent history.
The team returns to England on Saturday after one final session. They play York City in a friendly on Tuesday.
Arblaster wants 'bigger part' in Blades promotion bidpublished at 14:11 11 July
14:11 11 July
Media caption,
Arblaster: 'It's good to be back'
Sheffield United midfielder Ollie Arblaster says that he wants to play a "bigger part" in Sheffield United's pursuit of promotion in the upcoming Championship campaign.
The 21-year-old had to watch his team reach the play-off finals without him last season, having been sidelined since November with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
"I'd like to have had a bigger part to play and that's what I set out as soon as we lost last season in the play-off final," Arblaster told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"I was just determined to come back and get back in playing as soon as possible and helping us go up.
"I was in and around it when we went up in the 2022-23 season but nowhere near where I wanted to be. I want to be playing week in, week out for my boyhood club, that would be a dream."
Blades boss Ruben Selles confirmed he is not expecting Arblaster to return until mid-September - but the Englishman is hopeful he can be match-ready earlier than anticipated.
"I think I'm pretty close. I feel really good, my body feels really good," Arblaster added.
"I just have to take it day by day. Hopefully I'll get back before [mid-September] but definitely by that September international break, I'd love to be back playing games."
Gossip: Brewster exiting Blades, bound for Boro?published at 11:05 11 July
11:05 11 July
English striker Rhian Brewster, 25, is unlikely to re-sign for Sheffield United amid interest from Middlesbrough and recently promoted Premier League side Burnley.(EFL Analysis), external
Boro and the Clarets are also both being linked with a potential move for NEC Nijmegen winger Sontje Hansen, 23, but may face additional competition for the Dutchman from Wrexham.(Teesside Live), external
Souza exit sad but inevitable end to redemption talepublished at 16:29 5 July
16:29 5 July
Adam Oxley BBC Radio Sheffield
Image source, Getty Images
This time last year, many Sheffield United fans would have been delighted to see Vinicius Souza leave the club. There were even offers to drive the Brazilian as far away from Bramall Lane as possible.
Twelve months on, the 26-year-old midfielder has joined Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga with a mix of genuine disappointment and best wishes from Blades supporters.
It's quite the redemption story.
'Vini' arrived during a challenging summer for ex-boss Paul Heckingbottom, as United prepared for the Premier League on a limited budget.
Star players Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge were controversially sold, with Souza one of the new signings charged with filling a sizeable void.
He failed to impress, as did the side in general, with his antics regularly annoying team-mates, including several on-pitch arguments with finger-pointing a plenty.
I even remember a pre-kick-off 'low five' at Old Trafford for compatriot Antony, something which frustrated our BBC Sheffield summariser Carl Asaba at the time for its timing and unprofessionalism.
Relegation inevitably followed for the bottom-placed Blades, but a new season under returning boss Chris Wilder brought a new 4-2-3-1 formation and a fresh chance for Souza as one of two holding midfielders.
The former Flamengo, Lommel and Espanyol man was a different player, bulldozing Championship opponents, driving the team forward, providing the fuel for the team's creative talents, like Gus Hamer, Callum O'Hare and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
Souza was also a superb foil for emerging academy stars Oli Arblaster and Sydie Peck in United's midfield two, giving them the confidence and security to flourish.
Unfortunately, injury disrupted the second half of Souza's season and he did not quite finish the campaign in the same imperious way he started, but he had already done enough for many at Bramall Lane to expect his exit following defeat in the Championship play-off final.
Souza may have played the villain in his first season in England, but his name was increasingly sung – to a Slade classic – as United came agonisingly close to an immediate top-flight return.
"Come on Vini Souza, join us in the boozer, we're one-nil up, we're one-nil up."
I suspect the Brazilian will have a pint waiting when he returns to Sheffield in the future, rather than one being thrown in his face.
Gossip: Birmingham target former Celtic forward Kyogopublished at 11:52 4 July
11:52 4 July
Birmingham City are in talks to bring Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi back to the UK from Ligue 1 side Rennes. The 30-year-old cost the French club £10m when he joined from Celtic in January. (Birmingham Live), external
Birmingham have also reportedly joined the chase for SC Braga right-back Joe Mendes but face competition from Championship rivals Sheffield United and Southampton for the Swede's signature. (Expressen), external
Gossip: Souza set to leave Bladespublished at 10:11 1 July
10:11 1 July
Sheffield United midfielder Vinicius Souza, 26, is set to sign a five-year deal with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg for £12.8m. (Sport Witness), external
Will Blades live long and prosper?published at 17:12 27 June
17:12 27 June
Adam Oxley BBC Radio Sheffield journalist
Image source, Rex Features
It's Sheffield United, Jim, but not as we know it.
The red and white half of the Steel City is set for a fascinating 43 days between now and kick-off in the new Championship season.
When the Blades face Bristol City at Bramall Lane on 9 August, a new chapter – heralded by the club's American owners – will begin in earnest.
For now the dust is beginning to settle on a seismic change for which tremors will undoubtedly be felt for weeks, months and years to come.
It's been a busy and dramatic six months since COH Sports acquired Sheffield United. Chris Wilder was quickly given a new three-and-a-half-year contract. United claimed a club record 92 points but missed out on automatic promotion in the final few games. They then lost the Championship play-off final having led with 15 minutes to go before Wilder eventually departed by mutual consent, being replaced by Spaniard Ruben Selles.
That decision has split the Blades fanbase, with social media exposing extreme opinions on both sides of the argument for and against change.
Boyhood fan and former player Wilder will always be a legendary figure at Bramall Lane. He achieved this status in his first spell when he took the club from League One obscurity to ninth in the Premier League, but he deserves more credit than he has received for his second spell, including last summer's rebuild in the wake of relegation from the top-flight, with a significant turnaround of players, and the protracted takeover which continued until late December.
At Wembley in May he stood on the brink of achieving something no other manager in the club's history had achieved: three promotions. It will always sting that he came so close for Wilder, his players and the club's supporters.
But a significant number of Blades fans took issue with performances last season and the club's style of play, while questioning the success of recruitment in January and the near £450,000 in fines paid over player and staff conduct.
Whatever motivated the decision to act, the Blades board has acted, and in doing so, they have thrown their full weight behind former Hull City and Reading boss Selles.
Their claim that he "can employ innovative recruitment and analytic strategies" is key - relating to the owners' eagerness to use data and artificial intelligence to "recruit the best and brightest talent", which is central to the intrigue about how the Blades squad will take shape under Selles, who says he will have the final say on transfers.
How many existing players will be able to deliver the intensity that the Spaniard demands? Will some Wilder regulars find themselves sidelined? Will data-driven arrivals be in the majority or minority, as opposed to "seen it, done it" Championship players?
United's new board is seeking "sustainable success" and says "the road ahead may require patience", but having come so close to a Premier League return last season, patience may be in short supply if the Blades aren't in the mix for automatic promotion from an early stage.
It's a brave new enterprise at Bramall Lane, with Selles tasked to boldly go and establish the Blades as a regular top-flight club.
First-team coach Lester departs Sheff Utdpublished at 13:40 26 June
13:40 26 June
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Jack Lester (right) served as first-team coach for both Chris Wilder and Paul Heckingbottom
First-team coach Jack Lester is to leave Sheffield United after a mutual agreement was agreed between him and the club.
Ex-Blades striker Lester returned to Bramall Lane in 2019 to head up the club's academy.
He was then appointed to first-team coach two years later under Paul Heckingbottom and maintained that role with Chris Wilder, who was dismissed last week.
But as Lester leaves, it has been confirmed that Matt Duke and Micky Collins, other members of Wilder's backroom team will work with new head coach Ruben Selles.
Selles pledges to field 'intense' Blades sidepublished at 15:56 25 June
15:56 25 June
Image source, Rex Features
New Sheffield United boss Ruben Selles has given a flavour of how he wants his Blades side to play.
In his first interview with BBC Radio Sheffield, the new man in the Bramall Lane dugout pledged to play "intense and front-footed" football and stick to his attacking principles.
He said: "We are very proactive, we are not waiting for things to happen, we want to be creating situations, we want to be aggressive, we want to be front-footed and vertical in our attack. Those are the principles – we want to prepare a team that is very intense.
"We want to find the opposition box as quick as we can, that will not mean we want to kick it long, we want to find a spare player or have this breaking lines mentality.
"When we lose the ball we need to recover it as quick as possible to continue attacking."
Selles, who says he is a passionate boss, aims to foster a culture of trust with his players and maintain high standards.
He added: "I trust the players a lot but I am very firm in my principles and in the way I want them to do things on the pitch.
"We create the idea and they need to go and play the idea."
Gossip: Alzate set for Selles reunion?published at 10:32 24 June
10:32 24 June
Hull City and Columbia midfielder Steven Alzate, 26, could be set for an exit from the Tigers this summer amid interest from La Liga side Valencia and Sheffield United. (Hull Live, external)
Gossip: Blades in battle to sign striker Geubbelspublished at 11:25 20 June
11:25 20 June
Sheffield United and Southampton face stiff competition from Leeds, Wolves and four German Bundesliga clubs to sign French striker Willem Geubbels, 23, from Swiss Super League side St Gallen after he netted 14 goals in 31 games last season. (L'Equipe - in French), external