What Chris Wilder said about Harry Souttar’s Sheffield United return chances as Leicester City future hint emerges
Stephen Bettis, the Sheffield United chief executive, is continuing negotiations over bringing Harry Souttar and Kalvin Phillips back to Bramall Lane after manager Chris Wilder confirmed that both remain active targets. The Blades are keen to bring Souttar in as one of the two centre-halves they are chasing.
Despite already having four first-choice midfielders in the squad, and Jamie Shackleton as cover, United are also exploring another deal for Phillips to return if Manchester City once again cover the majority of his wages.
United may consider offering Mark McGuinness to Leicester City as part of the deal for Souttar, who has a £10m price tag on his head this summer. United have already had a loan to buy deal knocked back and are hoping to negotiate a deal with the new League One side.
Suggestions that deals for both players are done are wide of the mark although the expectation is that Phillips will be allowed out of City again after being left out of their squad on their pre-season tour.
He has two years left on his lucrative City salary but has been pushed down the pecking order again with the British-record signing of Elliott Anderson from Nottingham Forest. Souttar, meanwhile, played for Leicester in a 1-0 defeat to Coventry City this afternoon behind closed doors at their Seagrave training ground.
It was very much a second-string side, with a stronger XI set to face Genoa in their final pre-season game at the King Power Stadium tonight [Saturday]. Fellow former Blades loanee Hamza Choudhury was also in that side.
Asked about Souttar after today’s goalless draw in Bochum that rounded off their own pre-season campaign, Wilder said: “That's been left with Steve. There was a conversation with Leicester.
“Over the last 24, 48, 72 hours, we've tried to prepare our team for a really competitive game. We enjoyed last night and yesterday afternoon [at a supporters’ meet and greet], and with the supporters as well. These things will happen.
“We will get a centre-half in, and we will get two centre-halves in, and we might lose a player. But the bigger picture today, for me, is the overall look at what's happened to the club over the last four or five days. And we're in good place.”
Asked about former England international Phillips, Wilder added: “We've kept the dialogue open with Manchester City regarding Kalvin. He's a player that we'd like to be part of our group. So there are talks with Steve and Man City on Kalvin returning.”