Exclusive: Sky pundit raises Sheffield United "worry" for Michael Cooper amid West Ham news | OneFootball

Amid interest from West Ham and Everton, pundit Lee Hendrie believes that goalkeeper Michael Cooper has done enough to prove he deserves a step-up.

Pundit Lee Hendrie considers Sheffield United's goalkeeper Michael Cooper to be a "super, super goalkeeper" who has earned the interest of Premier League clubs.

Michael Cooper made the goalkeeper's position at Bramall Lane his own last season, after signing for Sheffield United from Plymouth Argyle following the departure of their former first-choice Wes Foderingham.

But Cooper's excellence couldn't earn the Blades a quick return to the Premier League. Sheffield United ended the 2024-25 season in third place in the Championship, but were beaten by Sunderland in the play-off final in May.

The club have since replaced manager Chris Wilder with the former Southampton, Reading and Hull City boss Ruben Selles, and are currently rebuilding their squad ahead of the new season, but their failure to get promotion leaves them at risk of losing their most-prized players.

Cooper had an excellent season in goal for the Blades, and there's been interest in the goalkeeper all summer.

It had been reported at the start of July that Everton had a £5 million bid for him turned down, with United feeling that the offer was way below their valuation of the player.

West Ham have now joined the chase for the goalkeeper, with The Sun reporting that the Blades are looking for £15 million for him; three times the amount that Everton had offered for him earlier in the summer.

Hendrie: Michael Cooper is "worthy" of Premier League interest

Speaking exclusively to Football League World about this interest from Everton and West Ham, pundit Lee Hendrie was full of praise for Cooper over the job that he's done since arriving at Bramall Lane: "When Sheffield United brought him in, they knew there was a lot of quality behind those gloves."

And Hendrie feels that Cooper has been an excellent signing for the Blades who's demonstrated his abilities, and that this is why Premier League clubs have shown an interest in him.

"When you take that step up and prove you're worthy of that, I think that's what he's done when he's put on a Blades shirt", he told us: "He's showed that he's capable and that's why the interest has come in from Premier League clubs. They see what he's all about, he's a very, very good goalkeeper, and he's been a super signing for Sheffield United."

But Hendrie also believes that this sort of attention is an inevitable side effect of the Blades failure to win that play-off final last May: "When you've got players like who want to go and establish themselves in the Premier League, and with Sheffield United not getting promoted, you do worry that key players and big players will get taken, and that could be the case with him because he's a super, super goalkeeper."

Cooper's 23 clean sheets demonstrated his excellence in 2024-25

Michael Cooper made that step up at Bramall Lane last summer when previous incumbent Wes Foderingham left the club for West Ham United. Cooper was signed from Plymouth Argyle to fill that gap, and had an excellent first season with them, including a remarkable 23 clean sheets in 46 appearances.

What Lee Hendrie identifies is an inevitable consequence of narrowly missing out on promotion. As a team, Sheffield United narrowly missed out a quick return to the top flight, but that doesn't mean that their individual players' performances won't have come in for considerable scrutiny from Premier League clubs, and a goalkeeper who keeps a clean sheet in every other game throughout an entire season will inevitably attract interest from elsewhere.

Cooper showed that he could make that leap when he joined Sheffield United from Plymouth last year, and his performances certainly merited that interest. The Blades may have a fight on their hands to retain him for the season to come.