Sheffield United are close to capturing the signature of Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper despite links with the Premier League, according to the latest reports.
The Blades have had the perfect start to the 2024/25 campaign, picking up two consecutive victories in the Carabao Cup and the Championship following the club’s dismal relegation from the top-flight last season in which they accumulated the third-lowest points total in the competition’s 32-year history.
There was quite a lot of movement at Bramall Lane throughout the summer transfer window, with 16 first-team players leaving the club and, despite some solid recruitment, there were huge question marks over Chris Wilder’s squad heading into the new season.
Nevertheless, Sheffield United put a lot of these concerns to bed on Friday night with a comfortable 2-0 win at Deepdale over Preston North End. A clean sheet was certainly welcomed by supporters after the club conceded the Premier League’s record number of goals in the previous campaign with 104 in 38 matches. In the aftermath of their relegation, number ‘1’ keeper Wes Foderingham left the club as a free agent and subsequently signed for West Ham United.
Ivo Grbic started between the sticks but on Tuesday night, during a 4-2 victory at home to newly-promoted League One side Wrexham, the Croatian took a seat on the bench as Wilder gave Adam Davies a run-out. While Davies wasn’t necessarily to blame for the Welsh side’s two goals, although he could have done slightly better for Wrexham’s second, it looks as though the manager is keen to bolster this department before the market closes in just over two weeks.
One name that has been linked with a move to the Blades is Plymouth shot-stopper Cooper. It was initially reported by journalist Alan Nixon on his exclusive Patreon last month that promotion hopefuls Coventry City were looking for a new keeper after Simon Moore’s exit to Sunderland but faced stiff competition from Crystal Palace.
The Sheffield Star added an update to this news, claiming that Sheffield United had also joined the race for the 24-year-old who was on the bench during the Pilgrims’ heavy 4-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough over the weekend.
Now, Football Insider have revealed that Wilder’s side are set to come out on top in the race for the goalkeeper’s signature after the Blades had a £2 million bid accepted from Plymouth. Furthermore, the outlet have stated that Cooper was in the stands in Bramall Lane on Tuesday as he watched his prospective new club come out on top over Wrexham. Additionally, Cooper is said to be finishing his medical today and will pen a four-year deal with United.
Writer’s View
It will be really interesting to see whether Cooper becomes the first-choice goalkeeper at Sheffield United upon joining because he even fell out of favour at Home Park over the past 12 months despite helping Plymouth to earn promotion to the Championship in the first place during the 2022/23 campaign when Steven Schumacher was in charge.
Grbic is currently Wilder’s preferred option in net but this could change in the future as he turns 29 in the new year. Meanwhile, Cooper is still in his mid-20s and still has plenty of room to grow. With time on his side, he will likely become the club’s primary goalkeeper in the near future.
Be the first to comment