A new manager, transfer business, fixture announcement and pre-season: what to expect from Sheffield United before work officially starts

Sheffield United’s preparations for the upcoming 2021/22 Championship campaign have already begun, with the major news thus far being the appointment of former Fulham and Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic after Chris Wilder left the Blades in March.

Paul Heckingbottom had taken temporary charge for United’s final 10 Premier League games and oversaw the inevitable confirmation of relegation, the joint-fastest in top-flight history.

However, Jokanovic has been entrusted with the task of taking Sheffield United back to the promised land at the first time of asking, with the club using the adjective “thrilled” to describe their feelings towards the appointment in their official website announcement post.

The 52-year-old’s name should certainly be memorable in the English second tier, with the Serbian achieving two promotions to the Premier League with both Watford (2014/15) and Fulham (2017/18).

Jokanovic oversaw automatic promotion with the Hornets in his only campaign in Hertfordshire, with Watford opting instead for Quique Sanches Flores to guide them through their first season back in the top-flight.

A brief five months in charge of Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv was then followed by a return to England, as Jokanovic took over at Craven Cottage in December 2015, with the West London side flirting with the prospect of relegation.

That season, the Cottagers finished 20th, however Jokanovic then oversaw two play-off pushes. The second season saw the Whites go all the way as they beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Wembley.

Following his second promotion, the Serbian was given an opportunity in the Premier League, but it only lasted until November before he was sacked and replaced by Claudio Ranieri. That particular move by the Fulham hierarchy didn’t pay off as they were relegated straight back to the Championship.

After leaving West London, Jokanovic made a move to the Middle-East, taking charge of Qatari club Al Gharafa where he spent the last two seasons in charge. Technically, he’s still contracted to the Qatar Stars League side with his contract at Bramall Lane officially beginning on the 1st of July.

Despite not starting work for another week-and-a-half, Jokanovic’s preparations for the new campaign will certainly be underway, with the Serbian entrusted with building a squad that can achieve promotion, but who could potentially be coming through the door this summer and who could be exiting the South Yorkshire club?

Transfers

It’s generally believed that the Blades won’t make any signings until Jokanovic officially starts work and that the signings made will be players of quality as opposed to rebuilding an entire squad.

United are blessed with a squad experienced playing Championship football, with nine members of the current first-team squad involved in the Blades’ 2018/19 promotion campaign, with a further eight having played in the second-tier before moving to Bramall Lane.

The likes of Oli McBurnie, Aaron Ramsdale and Sander Berge are names who have been linked with departures this summer, however strong rumours regarding players leaving the club are yet to materialise.

In terms of players linked, Wolves’ impressive young defender Dion Sanderson is reportedly on Sheffield United’s shortlist after a strong season on loan at League One side Sunderland.

The 21-year-old was reportedly subject of a £1m bid from the Black Cats this week, who failed to secure promotion to the Championship, but Wolves instantly rejected and it is believed the West Midlands club want closer to £2m.

Fulham’s Tom Cairney is also subject to Sheffield United’s interest, with the 30-year-old midfielder playing a pivotal role under the new Blades boss during his time at Craven Cottage. However, it’s believed that United would have to pay a fee of around £10m to secure the Scotland international’s signature.

The South Yorkshire club are certainly blessed with players who haven’t played to Premier League standard in the top-flight, but had previously been amongst the Championship’s top talents.

Strikers Rhian Brewster and Oli McBurnie are decent examples. The former had a mightily impressive loan spell at Swansea City in the second half of the 2019/20 campaign, scoring 11 goals in 22 appearances.

This season, the 21-year-old has seen his time at Bramall Lane overshadowed by the eye watering value of the transfer fee paid to Liverpool last summer, believed to have been around £24 million.

No goals and no assists after the striker’s first campaign for United was certainly underwhelming, but Brewster could prove to be a fantastic asset in the second tier.

As for McBurnie, he too enjoyed his time at Swansea, scoring 22 goals in 42 Championship appearance over the course of the 2018/19 season. He’s certainly not a fan’s favourite but a return to playing in the second tier could certainly prove beneficial.

Fixtures and pre-season

Sheffield United will learn their calendar for the upcoming Championship season on Thursday, with fixtures across the EFL being released at 9am. There won’t be a league Steel City Derby this year with Sheffield Wednesday relegated to League One last term as well as South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United.

There will, however, be two South Yorkshire derbies against Barnsley as well as games against newly promoted Hull City, Peterborough United and Blackpool. The Blades will also face Fulham and West Brom who were relegated alongside them.

The season is scheduled to kick off on Saturday 7th August and conclude on Saturday 7th May with the play-off final set for Sunday 29th May. However, a game is usually selected for TV coverage and moved to the Friday night which is expected to be the case once again this season

Thursday will also see the draw for the first round of the EFL Cup, which is expected to take place at 3:40 p.m. live on Sky Sports.

Once again, the draw will be separated into northern and southern categories, with Premier League clubs not in Europe, as well as Fulham and West Brom, joining in the second round. Those competing in Europe enter the competition in the third round.

There will be a total of 35 fixtures drawn across the two sections, with first round ties to be played the week commencing 9th August.

In terms of pre-season friendlies, none have been announced at the time of writing, but a schedule will quickly start to form in the coming weeks.

The next week or so may be quiet, but there’s certainly a vital summer ahead with a promotion push the goal for the campaign.

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