Sheffield United looking to strengthen goalkeeper department in January transfer window
If Sheffield United pursues their purported interest in Leicester City goalkeeper Danny Ward during this transfer window, they will need to rely on two favors from the Foxes. In an effort to expand their goalkeeping options, a report in The Sun has connected the Blades to a loan deal for the Welsh international this month.
All five of Ward’s appearances this season have been for Wales. The £12.5 million purchase from Liverpool back in 2018 has dropped behind Mads Hermansen and Jakub Stolarczyk in the King Power Stadium hierarchy after Daniel Iversen was loaned to Stoke City earlier this month. Blades manager Chris Wilder is reportedly interested in a loan agreement for Ward, with a possible buyout option in the summer.
As a Premier League club United are permitted to have only two temporary loans and to stand any chance of landing Ward, United would need to negotiate an early termination of Luke Thomas’ loan spell – from Leicester. Their other loan star, James McAtee, is a key part of their plans for the second half of the season as Wilder looks to mount a survival bid and retain United’s Premier League status.
Thomas is one of six players on Wilder’s roster who can play left back, although he did not appear in the Blades’ FA Cup thrashing of Gillingham over the weekend. Due to a mixture of injuries and international duty, Max Lowe and Yasser Larouci will be out for the foreseeable future, while Rhys Norrington-Davies is making a comeback after missing 14 months due to a hamstring injury.
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Norrington-Davies, Ward’s international teammate, manned left center-half for nearly the whole match against Gillingham, and his health will be closely watched in the upcoming days, weeks, and months to prevent a repetition. Speaking prior of the Gillingham trip, manager Wilder made hints about possible exits in the left-back position if doing so would provide United flexibility in a more crucial position within their team.
“There have been ongoing discussions as well and I’m sure that in that, there’ll be changes as well,” Wilder said. “The whole squad has been looked at. We have to get the balance right. We have got Rhys coming back, Max is out for a number of weeks. So we have to deal with those situations and we have to get the balance right.
“It’s no good having three or four left backs if we might possibly need players in another position. So in that there will be players departing as well to balance the group up and make the group look a bit better in terms of that.”
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