Sheffield United looking to make transfer moves despite end of EFL, Premier League window | OneFootball

The Blades want to trim down their squad while they still have time.

Sheffield United are reportedly looking to get rid of some of their fringe players before the rest of the transfer windows across the world shut.

A big summer reset at Bramall Lane was needed for United to be back on the right track, with their direction pointing towards a return to the Premier League.

There have been attempts to make changes on three different fronts: incomings, outgoings and a change in ownership.

Thanks to a lot of new arrivals, the first XI is a completely different one from the record-breakingly bad side that came down from the top flight in May. Good progress is being made on the ownership front, with EFL approval being the only thing standing in their way.

However, the departure lounge at Bramall Lane is still a bit too full for their liking. A lot of names were listed in the Blades' 'expendable' column over the summer, but not all of them have been moved on, as yet.

Even though there is no chance of the unwanted player being sold or loaned to teams in the EFL or the Premier League, opportunities in other countries where their transfer window remains open may present themselves to United, and they would like to strike while the iron is hot.

Sheffield United still looking to move on squad deadwood

The Star have reported that United are still looking to capitalise on the open markets in places like Greece and Turkey by getting rid of some of the fringe players in their team.

Among the names listed by the Sheffield outlet as being players who the Blades would like to move on from are Ivo Grbic and Ismaila Coulibaly.

Grbic, a 28-year-old former Atlético Madrid goalkeeper, has been reduced to being the club's third-choice shot-stopper after the arrival of Michael Cooper from Plymouth Argyle.

It was reported earlier in the summer that the club wanted to try and make back some of the £2.5 million that they spent on him in January, but they have so far struggled to find a new home for Grbic.

Mali international Coulibaly will be let go if the Blades receive a suitable offer for him, whether it be a permanent transfer or a loan one, as per The Star.

The pair of them have only made three appearances between them since the start of the season, both of which came in the EFL Cup. They both played against Wrexham in the first round. Coulibaly then featured against Barnsley in the subsequent round; Grbic didn't even make the bench.

Offloading unwanted players is a smart move by Sheffield United

While the Blades are set for a big takeover by an American consortium, it hasn't fully gone through yet, meaning that they still don't have the big spending budgets that they will hope to in the future.

Clubs of this nature can't afford to have too many players on their wage bill who really aren't contributing much at all to the team; it's just a waste of money for them.

Even if it is just a temporary move away from Bramall Lane for the likes of Grbic and Coulibaly, the wages that they will save will make the deals worth it, if they get interest in either of both players.