Tommy Doyle has already made Sheffield United feelings clear as Wolves man transfer speculation resurfaces
Sheffield United have once again been linked with a move for former midfielder Tommy Doyle, who could be made available by Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer for a bargain fee. The youngster was a big hit at Bramall Lane during his loan spell in 2022/23, helping the Blades win promotion to the top-flight.
Hopes of a reunion the following season were complicated by Premier League rules which permitted top-flight sides to loan only one player from a rival club, with the Blades electing to re-sign Doyle’s then-City teammate James McAtee instead.
Doyle then moved to Wolves, initially on loan, as a makeweight in City’s signing of Matheus Nunes but faces an uncertain future in the Black Country after Wolves boss Vitor Pereira said in an interview last season that the midfielder is “missing the physicality to face this league.”
As we revealed at the time, United investigated the possibility of a loan deal for Doyle in the January transfer window but were ultimately successful in their pursuit of first-choice target Hamza Choudhury, who has since returned to Leicester City following their relegation back to the Championship.
United have subsequently been linked with another move for Doyle this summer, with talk that he could be available for as little as £3million - a figure that, if true and based on his impact in the middle of the park during his loan spell at Bramall Lane, could represent exceptional value.
“We need to understand that we face top teams, top players,” Pereira told our sister outlet the Express and Star last season. “We need to run a lot and he’s missing this physicality, especially when we play with two midfielders. With three midfielders, I believe he is a 10 with high quality. The last pass, shots, crosses – he has those skills.”
Tommy Doyle has made no secret of Sheffield United affection amid uncertain Wolves future
Pereira went on to suggest that he would have a conversation with Doyle this summer, with the midfielder not making an appearance in Wolves’ last nine games of the Premier League season and missing from the squad completely for their final game at Southampton.
And if United did resurrect their interest this summer, after Choudhury’s departure and amid uncertainty over the future of key midfielder Vini Souza, they would take some encouragement from Doyle’s public appreciation of his time at Bramall Lane, both on and off the pitch.
Speaking two summers ago after promotion, about the possibility of representing the Blades in the Premier League the following year, Doyle admitted: “I love the place and I would love to come back. I’ve got a special bond with the club and the fans so we’ll see what happens. But yes, of course I would love to come back.
“I’ve always been the same player. But I feel I know the game better now, because of how the staff and the rest of the lads here have treated me. It’s been brilliant, really.”
Doyle’s magic moment in a United shirt came in the FA Cup quarter-final against Blackburn Rovers, when his long-range screamer in stoppage time sent the Blades to the semi-final at Wembley. In a cruel twist of irony, they then drew Doyle’s parent club City, meaning he and McAtee were both forced to watch from the sidelines as a Riyad Mahrez hat-trick booked Pep Guardiola’s side a place in the final.
Continue Reading