Sheffield United have received a bid of £5 million for their American centre-back Auston Trusty from Celtic, but according to Football Insider the Blades are reluctant to sell him.
The Glasgow giants have been interested in Trusty for the last few weeks, while the Blades have been linked with Celtic’s Mikey Johnston, leading to speculation about a potential swap deal.
Trusty, 26, signed for United last summer for a fee in the region of £5 million and he endured a poor debut having made 34 appearances in what has gone down in the record books as one of the poorest Premier League teams in history.
The USA international has made two appearances already this season, once in the Championship and one in the Carabao Cup victory over Wrexham. Before signing for the Blades, Trusty enjoyed a successful loan spell with Birmingham City in the second tier where he earned the club’s Player of The Season.
Sheffield United could enter talks with Celtic over swap deal
There are worries that Sheffield United may be leaving themselves light at the back: speculation will grow surrounding Anel Ahmedhodzic this week, as is the case for Trusty. If the Blades are to sell the central defensive pair then that would leave only Jack Robinson and Harry Souttar as the club’s natural centre-backs – Rhys Norrington-Davies and Alfie Gilchrist can play in central defence but they are deemed to be more of a versatile defender that are more suited to playing centre-back as part of a back three.
During Chris Wilder’s press conference previewing the Carabao Cup tie against Barnsley, he admitted, “There’s been a couple of bids for players. One was pretty close [to the player’s asking price] and one was a million miles off,” could the bid he was referring to as “pretty close” be Celtic’s £5 million offer for Trusty?
If United are interested in signing Irish winger Mikey Johnston then perhaps the best thing to do would be to enter negotiations with Celtic over a possible swap deal. While that would give the Blades a natural left-winger option, they would have to find a suitable Championship backup defender to replace Trusty, which at this late stage of the window isn’t a given.
Blades striker target being chased by several Championship teams
In other news, Sunderland have reportedly submitted a £5 million offer for Leicester City striker Tom Cannon. However, Sheffield United, Norwich City, and Stoke City are also expected to place bids for the promising forward before Friday’s transfer deadline, according to John Percy.
With the deadline looming, the competition for Cannon’s signature is likely to be intense right up to the last moment. The Blades currently have three striker options: Kieffer Moore, Rhian Brewster and Tyrese Campbell, but it is thought the latter will be utilised more of a wide forward.
