Wolves monitoring Sheffield United and Sunderland players ahead of January window | OneFootball

Wolves are interested in Sunderland's Dan Ballard and Sheffield United's Anel Ahmedhodzic ahead of the January window.

Wolves are keeping tabs on Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic and Sunderland’s Dan Ballard as they look to bring in a centre-back during the January window.

Gary O’Neil’s side have endured a torrid season so far, as they sit bottom of the Premier League, having picked up just one point from seven games.

Wolves have been particularly poor defensively, conceding 21 goals in that period, and a season-ending injury to Yerson Mosquera hasn’t helped.

Anel Ahmedhodzic and Dan Ballard are interesting Wolves

Therefore, bringing in a new centre-back will be a priority, and reporter Graeme Bailey told Molineux News that Wanderers are looking at the Championship, with Ahmedhodzic and Ballard on their radar.

The update states that Wolves are keeping checks on the pair, with Rennes’ Christopher Wooh another name on their list.

It also adds that the interest in Ahmedhodzic dates back to the summer, but Wolves didn’t want to pay the £20m asking price that the Blades put on their influential defender.

Sunderland and Sheffield United must resist January offers for key men

It’s no surprise that Wolves are looking at players like Ahmedhodzic and Ballard, as they’ve both proven themselves to be among the best at this level.

The reality is that they won’t be the only club monitoring the duo, and the same applies to other top Championship players, as they will always be getting attention.

However, both Sunderland and Sheffield United must do all they can to retain their star men in the January window.

We know that money talks, but they are the current top two in the league, and whilst it’s too soon to get carried away, you would expect them to be in the mix for promotion come May.

From a football perspective, losing either Ahmedhodzic or Ballard would be huge for the respective managers, and from a financial point, why would you cash in during the January window knowing how much promotion is worth?

So, it would need to be a ridiculous offer for the clubs to do business, and, even then, there’s no guarantee that Ballard or Ahmedhodzic would want to leave, as there is a possibility that Wolves could go down given their start.

Obviously, that’s judging right now, and things can change quickly in football. If Wolves start climbing the table, and Sunderland or Sheffield United drop down the Championship, it may seem like a much more appealing prospect to the players.

Nevertheless, you can’t imagine that either club are particularly worried about this development, and it shows they are doing something right if a Premier League side is taking an interest in your player.

Anel Ahmedhodzic and Dan Ballard can play at the highest level

Following on from that, if Sunderland or Sheffield United don’t go up this season, they will know there is a real chance the players could move on in the summer of 2025.

Ahmedhodzic has been outstanding alongside Harry Souttar in defence for the Blades, with the pair forming the best partnership in the league to date.

Meanwhile, Ballard’s campaign has been hit by injury, but he has been superb over the past 18 months.

With both players only 25, they are approaching their peak years, and it does seem inevitable they will be in the Premier League within the next year or two.