The Blades had a number of players missing for Saturday’s visit to Chesterfield, with Gustavo Hamer, Vinicius Souza, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Jamie Shackleton, Jayden Bogle, Anis Slimane and Benie Traore not included in the Sheffield United team sheet. We soon learned that Jayden Bogle was absent because he was completing his transfer to Leeds United. Chris Wilder also told the media that Ahmedhodzic and Shackleton missed out due to a groin issue. And now more details have surfaced as to why another player was absent. According to French journalist Marc Mechenoua, Benie Traore, 21, was not part of the squad as he closes in on a permanent departure to Swedish club FC Basel. The report claims the Blades will pocket just under £4 million for the Ivorian, who only made a total of nine competitive appearances for United.
Sportbladet first reported that Sheffield United agreed to pay £3.9 million for the Ivory Coast youth international, but it is now understood that the fee was far lower.
Traore was signed a year ago after Paul Heckingbottom (the manager at the time) given his approval. The former Sheffield United boss stated: “We see Benie as someone who has the qualities and ability to play at the top level,” but it’s fair to say we didn’t get to witness any of that before he was loaned out to Ligue 1 team Nantes.
In retrospect, the old recruitment team and Heckingbottom made a huge mistake; Traore was far too small and raw for the Premier League. The good news for the Blades is that they will be able to make a nice profit on the 21-year-old if they attach a sell-on clause and if Traore progresses over the next two or three years.
In other news, Unitedites have learnt the identity of the individual behind the takeover bid. According to Alan Nixon, Thomas Page is the businessman leading the takeover. Page, who was born in the Midlands, acquired his fortune as a poker player before relocating to Silicon Valley and founding Blonk.
Football club owners often have a history of gambling. Tony Bloom, the owner of Brighton & Hove Albion, also made a fortune playing poker. He then used his profits to launch his own company, Starlizard, which utilises statistical models to forecast the outcomes of sporting events.
Bloom isn’t the only Premier League owner with this type of background. Brentford owner, Matthew Benham, is the owner of Smartodds where its purpose is to provide models and research for professional gamblers. The way these two clubs have been run over the years has been in quite a statistical way, and given United’s potential new owner is from the same background, perhaps Sheffield United may run in a similar fashion.
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