Sheffield United join race for Blackburn Rovers star | OneFootball

Premier League outfit Sheffield United are keen on Blackburn Rovers talisman Sammie Szmodics, according to The Sun.

The Blades will be preparing for life in the Championship, with the club relegated, pending further appeals from Everton and Nottingham Forest for their points deductions.

Even if these appeals give the Blades a lifeline, it will be a matter of when and not if United go down, with the club failing to thrive under both Paul Heckingbottom and Chris Wilder this season.

They will also start next season on -2 points after a breach of EFL rules, but that doesn't prevent them from being one of the favourites to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking, with United having some excellent players on their books.

Recruiting Gus Hamer and some other gifted players during the previous two windows, the Blades are arguably in a strong position to go on and secure a top-six finish at the end of next season.

This will be attractive to players - and that will be useful for the Blades - who will need to refresh their squad with some additions to give themselves the best chance of making the best start to the 2024/25 campaign following their relegation.

Szmodics, who is the Championship's top scorer this season, is one man who's firmly in Wilder's sights at this stage.

Premier League interest mounting in Blackburn Rovers' Sammie Szmodics

There's no shortage of interest in Szmodics at this point, with the Blades just one of many sides who are keen on the 31-goal man.

Luton Town and Brentford are also thought to be interested in the ex-Peterborough United man, with the Hatters another side who are currently on course to be relegated.

He could thrive in the top flight with the Bees though, with Thomas Frank's side guaranteed to be playing top-tier football again next season.

Fulham have also been linked, with Scottish Premiership side Celtic reported to be keen, although the latter could face difficulties in their quest to sign the 28-year-old because of the financial strength of other teams in the mix for him.

The Sun that Rovers are keen to raise £15m-£20m for their goalscoring star if they are to let him go this summer.

Szmodics is an excellent player and has made such a difference for Rovers.

There can be no doubt about that, with his goals helping Blackburn in their quest to remain in the Championship.

But if John Eustace's are going to hold out for £20m for the player, or anywhere near that figure, Rovers may end up persuading all interested teams to pull out of the race and pursue other targets instead.

The attacker is clearly talented and could be an excellent addition to have in the top flight, but he hasn't been this much of a goalscoring threat in the second tier consistently over a number of seasons.