Sheffield United leave no stone unturned amid transfer eye on “aggressive” £14m former Barcelona man
Sheffield United will conduct an in-depth medical investigation into Chadi Riad’s fitness situation if, as expected, they follow up their interest in the Crystal Palace man before the end of the current window. The centre-half has emerged as a player of interest for the Blades.
United went into the window needing cover and competition at right-back, on the wings and in midfield, with a centre-half seen as a lesser priority. Senior United officials were confident that it was an area they would address in the latter part of the window, however, and that seems to have come to pass.
Reports in Africa have suggested that United are closing in on the loan capture of the former Barcelona man, who joined Palace in the summer of 2024 for a reported fee of around £14m.
His time in South London has been disrupted by two major injury issues, however, and United have placed a big emphasis on availability in this window as they look to strengthen their squad for the final section of the season.
Sheffield United leave no stone unturned amid transfer eye on “aggressive” £14m former Barcelona man
So any deal would only be signed off if United’s medical staff were completely happy that Riad’s issues are behind him. The fact that he came off the bench for Palace at the weekend against Chelsea suggests that they may well be, although that was his first appearance of the season.
The 22-year-old was born in Spain but has represented Morocco at senior level and is described by outlet AfricaFoot as “strong in duels, comfortable in possession, and possessing top-level training acquired notably at FC Barcelona.”
Xavi, the Barca legend who later had a spell as the club’s manager, described Riad during his time at the Camp Nou as “a great central defender, very aggressive and brings the ball up.”
Riad would not have far to look if he needed a reference for what a spell at Bramall Lane can do for a player’s career. His Palace teammate Dean Henderson essentially catapulted himself into the England squad via two separate loans at United and moved to Selhurst Park from Manchester United, winning the FA Cup since.
United were on the lookout for a centre-half anyway after terminating Ben Godfrey’s disastrous loan at the earliest possible opportunity. That left them with Japhet Tanganga, Tyler Bindon, Ben Mee and Mark McGuinness as their senior centre-halves, although the former two have been unavailable of late.
The Blades also sanctioned a loan exit for Nils Zatterstrom to Genoa, who have the option to make the move permanent in the summer if the young Swede impresses with the Serie A strugglers.
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