Former £7m Chris Wilder transfer target on free agent market ahead of key Sheffield United summer
A former Chris Wilder transfer target who was the subject of a transfer approach during the Sheffield United manager’s time in charge at Middlesbrough, reported to be worth £7m, is on the market as a free agent this summer after making a contract call at his current club. The Blades will be active in the market again this summer after missing out on an instant return to the Premier League through the play-offs.
The weekend defeat to Sunderland has ramped up speculation about some of Wilder’s key players moving on this summer, with the likes of Gus Hamer and Vini Souza amongst the most high-profile. All six loanees who were on United’s books by the end of the campaign have also returned to their parent clubs, leaving some obvious holes in the Blades squad.
More firepower up front could well be on Wilder’s wishlist this summer, with United’s goal tally over the campaign standing at 63 - which was fewer than Coventry City, Middlesbrough and, remarkably, eight fewer than 13th-placed Norwich City, who also conceded almost twice as many as United’s 36.
And so, as United’s recruitment staff dust off the ‘Plan B’ list of recruitment targets they had compiled in the worst-case scenario that they remained in the Championship after the weekend Wembley showcase, the name Emil Riis could well be inked upon it.
The 26-year-old Dane was a player of interest to the Blades in the January transfer window just gone, with his contract at their Championship rivals Preston North End rapidly running down. But United instead added Tom Cannon to their forward ranks in a £10m move and Riis remained at Deepdale for the remainder of the season.
He will leave this summer on a free, however, not long after being the subject of that reported £7m bid from Wilder while he was at Boro. Riis scored almost 50 goals for Preston since arriving in 2020, including 21 in one season back in 2021/22 to catch the eye of Wilder and Boro.
Former £7m Chris Wilder transfer target on free agent market ahead of key Sheffield United summer
But it was confirmed that he would be moving on in the summer earlier this month, alongside goalkeeper Freddie Woodman and midfielder Ryan Ledson. Riis scored 12 goals last season as North End, under the guidance of former Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom, flirted with the relegation places before eventually finishing 20th, just a point above the drop zone.
“Watching Riis was an event in itself,” said George Hodgson, the North End writer for our sister outlet the Lancashire Post. “The mad and magnificent always on the cards. Riis was rare in the way he played the game but so many of his strikes felt similar, with a sense of sheer inevitability that the ball was going to be bludgeoned home.
“Riis was destructive and brutal in the way he played the game but off it, he regularly came across as a gentle soul with a good heart. Some of his mannerisms on the pitch could give off a lax vibe at times; you would struggle to accuse him of not running the hard yards for the team. He was an arm-around-the-shoulder guy, for whom the pitch felt a place of freedom; somewhere he could truly be himself.
“His decision to move on will leave a bitter taste among some, but every footballer should have the drive to climb and grow, and Riis must feel it is the right time to challenge himself in a new environment. He had his imperfections; wasn’t that kind of the point? One thing it was never, was dull.”
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