Sheffield United takeover news: What exactly is going on? | OneFootball

Blades owner Prince Abdullah wants to sell the club to a new buyer

The Blades' fortunes off the pitch have been mixed, to say the least, in recent years, with promotion to the Premier League last year then followed by a dismal top-flight campaign that saw them amass just 16 points as Chris Wilder returned to the Bramall Lane dugout.

Wilder's side are aiming for immediate promotion back to the promised land this season, but suffered a setback before the campaign had already got underway, after they were deducted two points for breaking EFL rules by defaulting on payments to other clubs during their 2022/23 promotion season.

Chris Wilder is no stranger to success in the Championship having previously overseen promotion at Bramall Lane in 2019, and his team have made a relatively positive start to the new campaign, but will have lingering doubts over the financial uncertainty that could have an impact amid speculation surrounding a change in owner.

Blades owner Prince Abdullah has had plans for a sale of the club for nearly two years now, and here we take a look at all the latest news surrounding the situation…

Sheffield United takeover latest

It was first reported in late 2022 that a £115m deal to take over the club had been agreed with Nigerian businessman Dozy Mmobuosi, but that never came to fruition and Abdullah is still yet to find a party that he can reach a deal to sell the club to.

The saga has continued to wage on in recent months, and English investors Tom Page and Dominic Hughes had previously been discussing a deal for United for around 18 months, through their Vertex Albion capital investment fund, and it was claimed last month that positive talks between Page and the club had been held.

The Star then revealed that some doubts were growing due to undisclosed delays, and recent developments now claim that neither Page nor Hughes are set to be involved in the takeover process.

Ohio-based businessman Steve Rosen is now reportedly fronting the negotiations for the same investor group, and an associate of his was understood to have been present at Bramall Lane for their win over Luton Town on October 5, in a presumed sign of the deal making progress.

Rosen is a co-founder of investment company Resilience Capital Partners, and his involvement in the negotiations was reportedly revealed by Bloomberg earlier this month, after the consortium aiming to strike a deal with Abdullah had previously wanted to keep his identity a secret.

There has been a lack of concrete news on the potential takeover in recent weeks, but the latest revelation around the negotiations is that Prince Abdullah's £110 million valuation of the club is putting off potential buyers, according to journalist Alan Nixon, which may mean Rosen and his team are now unsure about doing a deal.

The Blades need stability off the pitch for success to follow on the pitch

While Sheffield United's players are most likely not overly bothered about the takeover situation, and are able to play to their strengths regardless of who is the owner of the club, it would be ideal for the deal to be done as soon as possible so everyone is on the same page at Bramall Lane, and the club can start to move forward.

Chris Wilder will likely be more privy to the details of the progress of the deal, and he will surely want it done as quickly as possible so he knows where he stands before a key January window that could be the difference between promotion to the Premier League or staying in the Championship beyond this season.

His side have managed to stop their top-flight rot in the second-tier so far this term, and sit in the play-off places as it stands, but will know that they need to improve even further to continue to challenge for the automatic promotion spots.

United were able to add numerous new players to their squad last summer, but the uncertainty surrounding the club’s owners certainly proved a stumbling block in their ability to build a top Championship side, and they cannot let a similar situation occur in the new year, so need a deal done in the coming months.