Sheffield United plotting move for Ipswich Town player | OneFootball

The Blades are looking at Luke Woolfenden to potentially aid their defensive department

Sheffield United and Chris Wilder are plotting a potential swoop for Ipswich Town centre-back, Luke Woolfenden.

This is according to Ipswich-based news outlet, TWTD, who claim that the 26-year-old is being considered as an option to aid the current defensive woes at Bramall Lane, which came to the fore as a result of Harry Souttar's achilles tendon injury on Boxing Day.

The Blades find themselves in the midst of a current four-way battle with Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland in the automatic promotion race, and following the recent takeover by COH Sports, there is hope that extra depth will be added to a squad that has struggled in certain departments when losing key players to injury.

Other central defenders have also been touted with a move to the Steel City, but this latest report suggests that Wilder hasn't forgotten about the qualities which his target of January 2020 could bring to the Championship's third-place side.

Luke Woolfenden considered as a defensive option for Sheffield United

As previously mentioned, the centre of defence is one of many areas that Wilder will be looking to add further bodies to, and TWTD state that the 26-year-old has once again emerged as a target for the United boss.

Woolfenden was previously of interest to the South Yorkshire side in the winter window of five years ago, at a time when the rolls between themselves and Ipswich were very much reversed with the Blades in the Premier League back then, whilst the Tractor Boys were residing in League One.

It was reported that the defender was the subject of a potential £3m bid that was snubbed by the East Anglian outfit, who saw strong potential in the man who went on to become an influential figure in Town's back-to-back promotion-winning sides from League One to the top flight under Kieran McKenna.

Despite making eight appearances and seven starts -including the last three successive games - in the Premier League - the summer signing of Dara O'Shea saw Woolfenden fall down the pecking order at Portman Road, and he could drop even further after the loan acquisition of Ben Godfrey and Axel Tuanzebe's imminent return from a lengthy absence.

The report states that United are yet to make a concrete offer for the imposing 6"4 defender, and that, if a bid was to be placed, it remains unclear whether the Blues would sanction either a permanent or loan exit, as the man who has made over 200 appearances for the club is out-of-contract in the summer - albeit the fresh development states there is an option for that deal to be extended to 2026.

Given his influence at the heart of McKenna's side which has transitioned magnificently from League One to the Premier League, the acquisition of Woolfenden on either a loan or permanent deal would be a smart piece of business for the Blades.

As a result of circumstances in East Anglia, there is uncertainty regarding whether the centre-back will receive the regular minutes he has enjoyed in recent weeks on a consistent basis towards the end of the season, which could be an instrumental factor in a potential deal.

Even more so, Town's academy product has come on leaps and bounds in terms of his maturity since being a target for Wilder five seasons ago, and with similar attributes to the aforementioned Souttar, it feels like a no-brainer for United to press forward with this particular deal in comparison to Norwich's Grant Hanley, who would add further experience, but has rarely featured for the Canaries in the past two years amid injury problems.