Twist taken in Oli McBurnie, Sheffield United contract talks | OneFootball

The Scottish striker's future is yet to be set in stone.

Highlights

Doubts around whether Oli McBurnie will stay at Sheffield United after the expiration of his current deal this summer have increased, following reports that the club's proposed takeover has negatively affected the talks between the two parties.

No deal has been sorted between the current United owner, Prince Abdullah, and the consortium that are looking to purchase the club, who are believed to be from Silicon Valley, California.

At the moment, the Blades are looking at a summer with minimal spending, with the majority of the moves that they look scheduled to make coming in the form of loans or free agent signings.

Manager Chris Wilder has said that these next few months are the most important period in recent times, as per the Sheffield Star.

The club ending up in a fresh pair of hands before the close of the summer transfer window would likely allow them to spend beyond their current budget, but only when that deal gets done should there be any real change from having new ownership, or so it seemed.

The US-consortium are already reported to have influenced the club's decision to pull the option in Ben Osborn's contract to extend it by a year, therefore releasing him.

Further reports suggest that the talks between the Americans and the club are causing more player contract-related issues, with McBurnie being the one on the end of it this time.

Oli McBurnie contract talks delayed by takeover

Discussions between the Scottish forward, his representatives and the club over potential new terms are said to have come to a halt because of the ongoing takeover process, according to the Star.

The club want to keep McBurnie around. They already have issues up front, having lost Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton Diaz from their forward ranks so far this summer.

Previous talks over a new deal led to no new agreement between the player and the club, but the Star reports that fresh rounds of talks have been stifled because of the prospective sale by Prince Abdullah to the US-consortium, and fears that McBurnie will leave for free, when his current deal expires at the start of July, are growing.

One factor which could be causing some delays in the takeover process is the Saudi Prince's desire to hold on to a small portion of the club, rather than selling all of his current shares.

McBurnie must be frustrated by hold up in contract talks

The Scottish forward has previously said that he would like to stay with the club, adding that staying on at Bramall Lane would be a "no brainer," as per the Star.

In terms of logistics, it makes perfect sense for him to stay. He's been living in Sheffield since being bought by the Blades in the summer of 2019 for £20 million, and his partner has recently given birth to their first child.

Of course, there's the argument that if he really wanted to stay his contract would have already been sorted. But he's not going to sign himself up for something that he and the team around him believe to be under market value for what he offers.

United's keenness to retain his services is understandable too. He's got a pretty decent Championship record, and could be a big help in getting the club back to the Premier League.

There seems to be willingness from both sides to get a deal done, to probably slightly differing extents, admittedly, so it must be annoying that it's getting dragged on by the ownership debacle.