If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That seems to be the mantra that Sheffield United are going for as they begin the turn for home in the Premier League. Whilst there are plans in place for who they could potentially be bringing in this summer, there are also some in place for those who are already part of the foundations at Bramall Lane.
Speaking to The Star, Blades boss Chris Wilder said that one of the main priorities for his side now is making sure that those players who have done so much for the club get the contracts that they deserve for getting the club this high in the table:
“Now we’ve got an unbelievably hectic January week out of the way – it’s amazing how it all gets crammed into the last three or four days – all our focus is on the training ground, academy and rewarding the players for their performances in the first part of the first Premier League campaign”
The report states that John Lundstram, Enda Stevens, John Egan and John Fleck are the names that are being touted to receive the new deals, as the club put negotiations on hold whilst they did their work in the January transfer window, and all this news doesn’t come a moment too soon.
Whilst I have spoken before about the club needing to adapt going into their second season in the Premier League, it is important that you still keep a core of your team together when you make the step from season one to two. You can’t keep things the same, and you can’t go a complete overhaul, you have to find something in the middle.
And whilst there may be some clubs interested in grabbing some of our players, the best way to get them off our backs is to reward them with a new contract and essentially tell them to either pay through the nose or go away.
Do the club need to be sorting these deals out this early?
Yes
No
Getting these plans in place now means that the club can go into the summer window, and indeed the rest of the season with a much more relaxed mind-set knowing that they have already got part of their plans for 2020/21 signed, sealed and delivered.