Sheffield United have been linked with Barcelona starlet Alex Collado throughout this season. But what’s the latest on that ahead of January?
Collado, 22, was poised to join Sheffield United on loan in the summer. But the deal fell through at the final hurdle and Collado would remain with the Spanish giants, where he’s yet to feature this season.
So what’s happened since?
In October, Sheffield United were said to have retained their interest in Collado. The Blades who were then under Slavisa Jokanovic were struggling in attack, and struggling to get points on the board in the Championship.
Soon after that in mid-November, a fresh report emerged, saying that Sheffield United may well reignite their interest in Collado in the January transfer window.
But nothing has been reported on Collado and Sheffield United since, with the Blades having also sacked Jokanovic and replaced him with Paul Heckingbottom.
Heckingbottom was with the club beforehand but whether or not Collado is part of his own transfer plans remains to be seen.
Do Sheffield United still need attacking players?
Yes – although they’ve found a new lease of life under Heckingbottom, the Blades are starting to pick up some key injuries with the likes of Rhian Brewster set to spend a significant period of time on the sidelines with a muscle injury.
Add to that the likes of Lys Mousset being injury prone, Oli McBurnie out of form, and both Billy Sharp and David McGoldrick both coming on a bit and it suggests that Sheffield United could be in need of attacking reinforcements in January if they’re to have a strong finish to the campaign.
Heckingbottom though has recently stated that his transfer priority next month is to sign a centre-back.
Collado would be a gamble, but given his Barca background it could easily be one that pays off.
