Sheffield United are aiming to make additions to their squad in the January transfer window and have identified Hamza Choudhury as a key target to strengthen their midfield. The Blades are seeking to add the Bangladeshi star this January to aid their push to gain promotion back to the English Premier League.
The Blades are looking to return to the Premier league after being relegated last year. They are currently third on the table and are aiming to finish in one of the automatic qualification spots. To this end, they have decided to use the January transfer window to strengthen.
According to a report by The Star, Choudhury, who, by pledging his allegiance to Bangladesh recently, became the first-ever Bangladeshi international to play in the Premier League, is one of Sheffield United’s priority targets for the mid-season transfer window. This would help bolster their midfield which has been depleted by injuries.
Choudhury’s Diminishing Role at Leicester City
The 27-year-old Choudhury has seemingly fallen out of favour at Leicester City this term, seeing his role in the team greatly diminished. Last season, he featured 41 times in all competitions, helping Leicester win the Championship and make the Kingpower stadium a Premier League ground again.
This season, however, he has fallen back in the pecking order, with Wilfried Ndidi, Boubakar Soumare, Harry Winks, and Oliver Skipp all preferred to him in midfield. This has resulted in him playing only four matches for the Foxes this season. Despite Steve Cooper being replaced by Ruud Van Nilsterooy, Choudhury has still not managed to get a look in for the club whose academy he joined as a six-year-old.
Why Sheffield United are Interested
Sheffield United are currently 3rd in the championship and are hoping to consolidate their push and gain automatic promotion into the Premier League. The Blades’ boss, Chris Wilder, appears to see Choudhury, whom he coached at Watford during a loan spell for the latter from Leicester, as vital to these plans.
Injuries have hit Sheffield United hard, leaving them with only Tom Davies and Sydie Peck as their only available senior midfielders. Oliver Arblaster sustained an ACL injury in the derby victory over Sheffield Wednesday in November, while Vini Souza recently injured his hamstring.
The Opportunity For Choudhury
For Choudhury, who has bar three loan spells, played all of his senior football at Leicester City, this could represent an opportunity to help Sheffield United return to the Premier League while cementing his place as a starter.
It will be intriguing to see how Sheffield United approach this window after the recent takeover of their club by the COH sports group. Thus, as the window unfurls, Choudhury to Sheffield is one to keep an eye on.