Sheffield Wednesday target set to complete Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United set: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Max Lowe could become only the third player in history to play for both Sheffield clubs, Nottingham Forest and Derby should he sign for Wednesday this summer.

The Blades announced their retained list last month and confirmed the defender would be released at the end of the month, once his contract expires.

Lowe's spell at Bramall Lane will come to an end after four years and just 53 appearances in all competitions due to a myriad of injury problems, but he may not have to travel far to find a new club.

According to the Sheffield Star, Wednesday are close to signing the 27-year-old, with a medical possibly set to take place later on this week.

Should the move to Hillsborough go through as expected, Lowe would join Terry Curran and David McGoldrick as the only players to have crossed the divide in both the Steel City and East Midlands derbies.

Lowe came through the ranks at Derby County and made 48 appearances in all competitions for the Rams, before joining Sheffield United in the summer of 2020.

The defender made just 11 appearances in his first season in South Yorkshire, before being loaned to Nottingham Forest the following season and helping them secure promotion, a feat he repeated 12 months later as the Blades bounced back to the top-flight.

Only two players have crossed the Steel City and East Midlands derbies divide

Curran, the current Doncaster manager, spent two seasons at the City Ground under Brian Clough, before crossing the East Midlands divide to join Derby in 1977 for a season and then to Sheffield Wednesday two years later.

His three seasons at Hillsborough were arguably the best of his career, with Curran scoring 39 goals in 138 league appearances, before moving to Bramall Lane in the summer of 1982.

A Nottingham native, McGoldrick spent four seasons at Forest between 2009 and 2013, with an unremarkable four-game loan spell at Hillsborough in the 2011-12 campaign. The former Notts County youth product returned to the Steel City seven years later, but this time in United colours.

McGoldrick scored 30 goals in 136 appearances for the Blades in all competitions, half of which came in the 2018-19 campaign and helped the Blades secure promotion to the Premier League.

The striker's four-season spell at Bramall Lane came to an end in the summer of 2022 as he joined Derby, proving to be an instant hit at Pride Park by scoring 25 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions in his first season in League One and being named in the PFA Fans' Player of the Year and in the PFA Team of the Year.

Despite the fierce rivalries that separate United and Wednesday and Derby and Forest, transfers across both divides have been relatively common. Clough famously managed both Derby and Forest, while England great Peter Shilton played for both.

David Johnson went on loan to both Sheffield clubs during his five-year spell at Forest, while Franz Carr also joined Wednesday on loan during his seven years at the City Ground and then signed for United on loan after joining Newcastle, before making the move permanent the following season.

Dean Saunders scored 42 league goals in 106 appearances for Derby, before spending a single season at both the City Ground and Hillsborough in 1996-97 and 1997-98 campaigns, while Nathaniel Mendez-Laing had fleeting spells at both Sheffield clubs before settling down at Derby.

Meanwhile, Rams cult hero Darryl Powell played just 19 league games combined in forgettable stints at Wednesday and Forest after racking up over 200 appearances for Derby.

Max Lowe's Sheffield United injury record

Lowe's proposed move across the Steel City divide comes off the back of a dismal season for Sheffield United in which he made just 10 appearances - all of them coming in the Premier League.

The defender started the Blades' first two league games of the campaign, but was then left out of the squad until mid-November as he needed to undergo surgery on his ankle.

Lowe returned to matchday squads in November as an unused substitute against Brighton and also remained on the bench for the two following Premier League outings, but featured in the Blades' next five matches and started in the 2-0 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 16.

Having come on as a substitute in the 3-2 loss against Luton on Boxing Day, Lowe was then left out of the squad for 16 of the next 17 Premier League matches, the only exception being the 3-1 win away against Luton on February 10.

With the Blades' relegation already confirmed, the left-back featured in the final two games of the season, coming off the bench against Everton and starting in the 3-0 loss to Tottenham on the final day of the season.

Conversely, while injuries have affected him in recent years, he has still been able to prove that he can be an attacking asset from wing-back, and he could potentially shine in the Championship once again next season.