Wolverhampton Wanderers have once again been linked with a move for Sheffield United centre-back Anel Ahmedhodzic. The Bosnian international is reportedly high on the transfer shortlist for Gary O’Neil, and according to Football Insider Wolves are ready to make a serious bid for the defender.
The 25-year-old was a key part of a United team which conceded over 100 goals in the Premier League last season, nevertheless, he has been linked with various clubs such as Atalanta and Wolves over the summer.
Ahmedhodzic, who signed for the club for approximately £4 million from Malmo in the summer of 2022, began his Blades career in remarkable form, quickly proving the club had secured a bargain for a promising defender. Ahmedhodzic concluded the Championship campaign with six goals and two assists in 34 appearances, contributing to 16 clean sheets – achieving automatic promotion and helping the club reach an FA Cup semi-final along the way.
According to Fotboll Direkt, Ahmedhodzic is thought to have a release clause of £17 million written into his contract and this can be activated providing add-ons and clauses amount to the £17 million sum. Malmo will be entitled to 13% of any future sale that exceeds €4.5m, per information provided by Transfermarkt.
Sheffield United now have a completely new way of playing this season and it is far more expansive than in recent years. Chris Wilder now wants his side to be a lot more dominant in possession and the build up phase of play is far more intricate than we’ve become accustomed to at Bramall Lane. And Anel Ahmedhodzic is a big part of that.
The Bosnian has the passing ability to not only feed the ball into forward areas or into the pivot of Vinicius Souza and Oli Arblaster, but he also has good mobility on the ball to drive into space and split the opposition lines, helping the Blades to play against the press. Taking Ahmedhodzic out of the team may hinder this aspect of the new system, and that’s not to mention his proven track record at Championship level both defensively and in the final third.
Wilder has Leicester City loanee Harry Souttar as another right-footed defensive option, but while he is strong in duels and comfortable on the ball he doesn’t offer that same finesse that Ahmedhodzic does for example, especially if you’re talking about driving the team forward up the pitch through an explosive run.
Wolves may struggle to meet demands of Sheffield United
Despite Wolves’ strong interest in Ahmedhodzic it is being reported by The Telegraph that they may struggle to make any more signings. Wolves are going to be extremely careful with their financial fair play situation, even though they have already made over £90 million for the sales of Pedro Neto and Max Kilman.
It is thought that the owners don’t want to spend no more than £20 million this summer, with centre-back being the priority position, or else it may land them in big trouble.
