2 Sheffield United players who will surely be keen to depart Bramall Lane this summer | OneFootball

Sheffield United are gearing up for an exciting end to the season as they look to win automatic promotion and reach an FA Cup final.

Whilst the latter is obviously going to be very difficult as they’re set to take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Wembley next month, a return to the Premier League is on the cards, as they hold a three-point lead over Middlesbrough and have a game in hand.

Securing a return to the top-flight is the priority, and the importance of doing just that is clear when you look at the financial situation of the club. As well as that, there are doubts around the future of many key players.

Iliman Ndiaye will enter the final year of his contract in the summer, along with midfielder Sander Berge. Elsewhere, Oli McBurnie headlines an extensive list of players who will see their deals at Bramall Lane this summer.

Therefore, whether the Blades win promotion or not, it’s going to be a massive pre-season for the club, and they could potentially see a high turnover of players for Paul Heckingbottom.

And, here we look at TWO players who will be keen to leave Sheffield United at the end of the campaign regardless of what happens in the promotion battle…

Ben Osborn

The versatile former Nottingham Forest man has suffered with injuries this season, but the reality is that he wasn’t going to be a regular under Heckingbottom anyway. There are a few options ahead of him at wing-back, and it’s a similar story in central midfield.

At 28, Osborn is at a stage in his career where he needs to get game time, and the reality is that his career has stalled somewhat since he moved to Yorkshire.

With his contract expiring in the summer, Osborn holds all the cards on his future, and you would expect that he is going to secure a move away. All at Sheffield United will no doubt wish him well, but they will recognise that this is the best option for all concerned.

Ismaila Coulibaly

There was a lot of excitement around Coulibaly a few years ago when it was claimed that the likes of AC Milan and Galatasaray had been tracking the midfielder.

However, he stayed with the Blades, but didn’t hit the same heights on loan in Belgium with Beerschot, as he had done the season before with the club.

Now part of Heckingbottom’s squad, the 22-year-old is not getting the game time he wants, and, in truth, is way down the pecking order and often fails to make the squad. Whether it’s a loan or a permanent switch, he needs to be playing regularly to try and get back to the level that made him so in-demand not long ago.