Sheffield United

"The amount of new managers coming into the league this year, I have never seen anything like it".

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by special guests Tommy Smith and Alex Bruce to preview the 2025-26 Championship season.

They discuss a range of topics including assessing chances of sides coming down from the Premier League, who the contenders might be for the top six and take a deep dive of each of the sides promoted from League One.

Listen to the full episode of 72+ and more on BBC Sounds.

Sheffield United and Bristol City will be debuting their new bosses on Saturday's late afternoon game (17:30 BST) to ring in their new Championship season.

For the Robins, Austrian Gerhard Struber will be hoping to take the mantle on from former boss Liam Manning and set Bristol City up for another promotion fight with a huge win over the side that gave them a 6-0 drubbing in the play-off semi-finals.

While Blades boss Ruben Selles will need to prove he's up to scratch in front of a home crowd after he replaced the much-loved Chris Wilder.

• Sheffield United are unbeaten across their last six league games against Bristol City (W4 D2), with each of their last three wins coming via a one-goal margin.

• Three of Bristol City's last four league wins against Sheffield United have come at Bramall Lane, with the Robins scoring 2+ goals in each of those victories.

• Sheffield United have lost on each of the last four occasions their first league game of the season has come at home, failing to score in each of the last three.

• Bristol City have won their opening league game in just one of the last seven seasons (D4 L2), beating Coventry 2-1 at home in 2020-21.

• Bristol City have won just one of their last 15 away league games (D7 L7), beating Millwall 2-0 back in March.

Norwich are hoping to beat Leicester and Sheffield United to the signing of England under-21 defender Callum Doyle, 21, who is valued around £10m by Man City. (SportsBoom, external)

The Blades are also keen on Hull City defender Charlie Hughes, 21, who worked with boss Ruben Selles at the MKM Stadium last season. (SportsBoom, external)

Atalanta's former England and Everton defender Ben Godfrey, 27, is another linked with a move to Bramall Lane. (Pete O'Rourke, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United goalkeeper Ivo Grbic has joined Turkish Super Lig club Fatih Karagumruk on loan for the season.

Croatia international Grbic moved to Bramall Lane in January 2024 from Atletico Madrid.

But he has only played 11 games for the Blades, the last of which was in the EFL Cup last August.

The 29-year-old spent most of last season on loan in Turkey with Caykur Rizespor and now returns to the same division but with a different team.

Sheffield United are interested in signing Malmo defender Nils Zatterstrom. (The 72), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United will go into the new Championship season with many of the players who came within a whisker of promotion to the Premier League.

There are seasoned professionals, players with top-flight experience and plenty of exciting youngsters; both from the Blades' academy and those who have been recruited over the past few seasons.

There are also a lot of unknowns at Bramall Lane as a new era begins with new manager Ruben Selles chosen to lead the Blades by American owners COH Sports in their first full season in the boardroom.

The time to fully judge a club's summer business is when the transfer window closes but, right now, while the squad has quality, it feels weaker than last season and lacks depth in several areas.

And part of that is due to players choosing Championship rivals over a return to Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United offered record signing Rhian Brewster a new contract and reportedly wanted to re-sign fellow striker Oli McBurnie.

But Brewster has elected to join Derby and Hull City are set to win McBurnie's signature - those are two teams who were battling relegation last season.

The Blades have now sold defender Anel Ahmedhodzic to Dutch side Feyenoord with striker Kieffer Moore joining newly-promoted Wrexham, and that's after seeing Vinicius Souza depart for a big-money move to VfL Wolfsburg in Germany.

Ahmedhodzic and Souza were key parts of last season's promotion push, with both starting the Championship play-off final, and supporters will expect the significant sums received for the pair to be reinvested over the next month.

Some would be happy to see Brewster, McBurnie and Moore plying their trade at other second-tier clubs this season, as all three players had their critics among the Blades' fanbase.

Others will have concerns about the club's ambitions off the pitch, and its ability on the pitch to compete for promotion - considering this summer's business so far and in referring to what the board said in a statement when Selles was appointed.

"As owners, please know that we remain unwavering in our goal: to see Sheffield United not only return to the Premier League, but to establish ourselves as a club that can compete consistently at a high level," the statement said.

In May, the Blades beat Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate over two legs in the play-off semi-finals to secure their place at Wembley.

This Saturday's Championship opener at Bramall Lane between the same two sides will provide an initial test of the changes made in pre-season and an indication of the work still required if the Blades are to succeed where they ultimately fell short last term.

Sheffield United could consider a move for Wigan Athletic's English goalkeeper Sam Tickle, 23, should current stopper Michael Cooper, 25, depart for a Premier League side. (Star), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Sheffield United have lost out on Go Ahead Eagles and Finland winger Oliver Antman, with the 23-year-old set to join Rangers. (Daily Record), external

West Ham are keeping tabs on Sheffield United's English goalkeeper Michael Cooper, 25. (Sun), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip column here.

Wrexham and Sheffield United have lost the battle for Crystal Palace defender Rob Holding, 29, with the Englishman preferring a move to MLS side Colorado Rapids. (EFL Analysis), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Friday's gossip column here.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United defender Femi Seriki has said new head coach Ruben Selles' style of football "suits me to a tee".

The 22-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough year at Bramall Lane under former boss Chris Wilder last season, making 27 appearances and competing with Hamza Choudhury and Alfie Gilchrist as the club's first choice right-back.

Now under Selles, Seriki believes he can take his game to another level.

"It's definitely a different style of play, a lot of intensity, a lot of running and a lot of pressing but it's good, I'm enjoying it," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"It's been tough but it's been good. I'd say it suits me to a tee.

"Me, Harrison [Burrows], Sam [McCallum], the other Sam [Curtis] - full-backs being on the front foot. I'm enjoying it.

"For us, it's about knowing when to press, when to get to a man and then obviously shuffling as a back four, making sure we're not leaving ourselves too exposed and get the right timing."

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United boss Ruben Selles has confirmed the club are interested in signing defensive midfielder Djibril Soumare from Portuguese side Braga.

The 22-year-old spent last season on loan at fellow Portuguese top-flight side Nacional and has appeared four times for Senegal's under-23 team.

"We are looking for a player in that position as a [number] six," Selles told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"Djibril has been a name [mentioned], we have analysed him and I think he is a player who can suit our style, yes."