, The 10 Sheffield United players entering the final year of their contract next month

The 10 Sheffield United players entering the final year of their contract next month

Sheffield United crashed out of the play-offs last night, after an enthralling semi-final bout v Nottingham Forest.

Forest won the first leg 2-1 at Bramall Lane before the Blades reversed that scoreline at the City Ground. It saw last night’s game go to extra time and eventually penalties, with Forest qualifying for the Wembley final.

It condemns Sheffield United to another season in the Championship. But Paul Heckingbottom’s side showed last night that they’re a side with great quality, particularly on the road, so fans will be optimistic of seeing their side challenge for the top-six again next season.

Whilst Heckingbottom has some rebuilding work to do this summer, he may also have one eye on those who are entering the final year of their contract next month.

According to Transfermarkt, all of Oli McBurnie, Jack O’Connell, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood, Ben Osborn, Enda Stevens, Jack Robinson, Daniel Jebbison, Wes Foderingham and Billy Sharp are out of contract in 2023.

There’s a mix of players on that list, some who are long-term absentees in O’Connell, some who are big money signings but who have yet to repay their transfer fee in McBurnie, with the rest being regular first-team players.

The club may well look to cut ties with O’Connell and McBurnie should they make little-to-no impact next season, though losing McBurnie on a free would be terrible financial business for the club.

Sharp, Robinson and Osborn have all received one-year contract extensions and so they’ll be playing for their future next season, and so too may the rest of the players out of contract next year.

Names like Fleck, Norwood and Foderingham have all been important players under Heckingbottom, but there’ll be no guarantees for any of them.

And the likes of Stevens, who’s been useful player to United once again this season, may give Heckingbottom a difficult decision to make as he’s shown poor form over the past few months.

As for Jebbison, he’ll surely earn a new deal as he remains a young prospect, though whether he’ll be loaned out next season remains to be seen.

It’s a long way off yet. But Heckingbottom will surely be considering some names to offload this summer and help finance his rebuild, and some of the names he could offload might be those coming to the end of their contracts in 2023.

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