Sheffield United's Michael Cooper transfer stance as Everton 'step up interest' in future England goalkeeper
Sheffield United are not particularly concerned over interest in goalkeeper Michael Cooper, despite a report at the weekend suggesting that Premier League side Everton remain admirers of the future England stopper. Cooper enjoyed a stunning first season at Bramall Lane last term and came close to capping it with a fairytale promotion to the top-flight.
A cruel defeat at Wembley to Sunderland ended those hopes but Cooper can still look back at his season with a lot of pride, before a well-earned summer break which saw him get married to his partner Morgan.
The 25-year-old was named player of the year last term by Unitedites, a honour that surprised and humbled him in equal measure, and he has taken to life in South Yorkshire well since his first big move from his native Plymouth a year ago.
Like all players, Cooper remains ambitious and keen to test himself at the highest level but his previous stance is understood to have remained unchanged. Last summer a potential move to Crystal Palace didn’t materialise because it would have been as Dean Henderson’s understudy and at this stage of his career, the priority remains to play football consistently.
Michael Cooper transfer stance as Sheffield United goalkeeper linked with Everton move
That would appear unlikely if a move to Goodison Park did happen, with Jordan Pickford the undisputed No.1 on Merseyside and still only 31 years of age. A reported £5m fee, mooted by journalist Alan Nixon, is also laughably low for a goalkeeper of Cooper’s quality, and a player so important to the Blades as they look to get promoted this season.
Cooper’s debut season at Bramall Lane has seen him earmarked as a future England goalkeeper, and those ambitions would undoubtedly be better served in the Premier League. But he still very much has time on his side.
That isn’t to say that there is no chance he moves on in the short or medium-term future, because every player has a price. But United are in control of that situation, with Cooper just 12 months into a four-year deal and his value only increased from the bargain fee - in the region of £2m plus add-ons - they paid Plymouth last summer.
James Trafford, the Burnley goalkeeper, earned an England call-up while Burnley were still in the second tier, although their promotion to the Premier League will give him a wider audience while Cooper prepares for another season at Championship level with the Blades.
“Every young aspiring goalie wants to be England's No.1, and it's no different for me and other goalies in the country at the minute,” Cooper admitted earlier in the season. “But my focus is short-term and what's happening at Sheffield United. I’m not looking any further into the future than right now.
“Traff's done well and got into the [England] squad so he's shown you don't have to be in the Premier League. The standard in the Championship has increased massively recently so it gives outfield players and goalies a chance as well of maybe getting on the fringes of the squads.
“When you’re at a club for so long, you can be in a little bubble almost. So the different challenges [at United] have helped bring the best out of me, I think. I'm just trying to further my career and so far I feel it's going in that direction.”
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