"Are they transparent?" - Sheffield United ownership claim issued after January transfer splurge | OneFootball

Sheffield United are nearly three months into their new era with COH Sports, but have they communicated enough with the fans?

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

An era at Sheffield United ended back in December 2024, when Prince Abdullah sold the club to an American consortium.

The Saudi businessman arrived at Bramall Lane in September 2013, and nearly five years later he would own the entirety of the club after being 50 per cent owner throughout his tenure in England.

Prince Abdullah owned multiple clubs under the United World Group banner, but it was United who were the leading light in that, and under his ownership, Chris Wilder was able to guide them back to the Premier League in 2019.

Since 2023 though, it appeared that Prince Abdullah was looking to and was happy to sell United, with multiple buyers falling by the wayside, but COH Sports - led by private equity firm businessman Steven Rosen and scientist/health guru Helmy Eltoukhy - completed their protracted acquisition of the club late on in 2024.

Little has been said by Rosen and Eltoukhy since they arrived at Bramall Lane nearly three months ago, but they backed Wilder in the January transfer window as the Blades continue on their quest for an immediate return to the top flight of English football.

Sheffield United's new ownership praised despite lack of words since January takeover

Some owners in English football are more outspoken than others - you only have to look across the city of Sheffield towards Hillsborough to see Dejphon Chansiri of Sheffield Wednesday and some of the comments he has made during his time with the Owls.

For now, Rosen and Eltoukhy have stayed quiet and have let the players and Wilder do their talking in their matches, and their backing of Sheffield United's manager has left FLW's Blades fan pundit Jimmy (of the Blades Ramble YouTube channel) impressed with their work, irrespective of the lack of words.

"Are they transparent? The new owners are very new, so we've hardly heard anything from them," Jimmy told FLW.

"However, they came in during a very busy January period, they did a lot of their talking by putting their hands in their pockets, particularly the Tom Cannon transfer which was a very expensive one, but also signing players such as Hamza Choudhury and Ben Brereton Diaz - they are not cheap deals.

"They've certainly backed the manager, so the actions do speak louder than words, so in terms of transparency, we've not heard anything really from them yet, but there's no concerns with their intentions at this stage.

"They have bought themselves - literally I suppose - a little bit of time to address the fanbase. It'll depend on what division we're in next season, but it'll be interesting to see which direction we go in next season."

Sheffield United fans are all surely delighted with Steven Rosen & Helmy Eltoukhy

Sometimes Sheffield United had to take the rough with the smooth when it came to Prince Abdullah - his time in charge had its flaws, especially when it felt like Paul Heckingbottom was not backed sufficiently in the Premier League in 2023-24, but he also did good for the club.

For an American consortium like COH Sports to come into the club three months ago was a big change, and little was known as to whether they had the wealth to take United to the next level, so the statement £10 million signing of Tom Cannon - even if he hasn't taken off yet - was a big one.

Loan deals for the likes of Choudhury, Brereton Diaz and Harry Clarke, which you'd expect to be expensive too, only prove that Rosen and co don't really have to speak too much yet when it comes to being honest and transparent - as Jimmy alluded to, they are letting their actions do the talking for now, and there's not a lot to be disappointed with at this current moment in time.