Sheffield United hatch plan to extend Iliman Ndiaye's contract | OneFootball

Sheffield United are expected to bring Iliman Ndiaye and his representatives back to the negotiating table by inserting a release clause into any new contract that sees him extend his stay at Bramall Lane, according to the Sheffield Star.

The 23-year-old has just over one year left on his contract after signing a three-year deal back in 2021 - and has managed to make a full first-team breakthrough since then.

Not only has he been able to do that, but he has become a key player for the Blades, playing a big part in helping to fire United back to the Premier League at the second time of asking and representing Senegal at the World Cup during the latter stages of last year.

Recording 15 goals and 12 assists in 52 competitive appearances during the 2022/23 campaign, it comes as no surprise that he's been linked with a move to the English top-flight in 2023, with Everton reportedly having a £25m bid rejected back in January when the Blades were intent on keeping hold of him for their promotion push.

Who could buy Iliman Ndiaye in the summer?

The Sun have reported that the Toffees, Newcastle United and West Ham are all keeping an eye on the Senegal international ahead of the summer window, with the former seeming to retain their interest in him.

Having secured survival on the final day of the 2022/23 season, they may have boosted their chances of securing him but their financial situation is uncertain and that may rule them out of this race.

The 23-year-old is also thought to be attracting interest from Italian clubs, although the identity of these teams remain unclear at this stage.

Is this a good plan for Sheffield United?

Although they probably won't be able to maximise their profit on Ndiaye if they insert a release clause into a new deal, with United unable to create a bidding war if this happens, this seems like a sensible move.

They will be desperate not to lose Ndiaye and even if they only secure £15m for him, that's better than nothing.

With the Blades facing the possibility of losing him for free, they need to take drastic action to ensure he remains at the club if they don't want to cash in on him.

You can understand why they wouldn't want to lose him because he was a key part of United's promotion push and they can't exactly rely on Oli McBurnie to be fit and firing all the time.

They can certainly rely on Ndiaye at the moment - but they won't be able to if he's sold and you feel Prince Abdullah will want to sell him if he doesn't put pen to paper on a new deal soon.