Sheffield United Championship Odds: Blades 9/2 for sharp Premier League return

Sheffield United returned to the Premier League last term as favourites for relegation, but their season ended up being even tougher than expected.

Sheffield United Championship odds

(Odds will display when market is available)

It’s rare that a newly-promoted outfit gets weakened after an injection of Premier League money, but the Blades saw both Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge depart last summer and, with their budget limited, they struggled throughout the campaign. 

The club head back into the Championship having broken the top-flight record for goals conceded. They let in 104 across the 38 games, which is an issue that will follow them into the second tier.

The return of Chris Wilder - who masterminded promotion in 2019 - brought a little stability back to the club. He was unable to steer them away from the drop, but he’s a safe pair of hands for their return to the second tier.

Unfortunately, their budget issues haven’t gone away. A raft of players left on free transfers this summer, with George Baldock, Daniel Jebbison and Oliver Norwood among 12 players to depart.

Cameron Archer, Jayden Bogle and Benie Traore have been sold, leaving Wilder with work to do. They have one of the smallest squads in the division, which is reflected in their odds of 14/1 to top the table.

They are priced at 6/4 to make the play-offs and 4/9 for a place in the top half, so everything points to a middle-of-the-road finish as the club heads into a rebuild, but the Blades have some quality players who could excel at this level.

Gustavo Hamer was one of the Championship’s standout players during his spell at Coventry City. He joined the Blades last season, chipping in with four goals and six assists despite their struggles.

Defender Anel Ahmedhodzic was exceptional during their Championship campaign in 2022/23. The defender was a huge coup when the Blades signed him from Malmo in 2022 and holding on to him for another summer is huge for the club.

Midfielder Ollie Arblaster has only made four Championship appearances, but he featured 12 times in the Premier League last season and made a real impression.

The 20-year-old even captained his boyhood club at Old Trafford towards the end of the campaign. How he fares after the step down will be something to follow.

In addition to that, the Blades have made some eye-catching signings. They’ve added quality players with Championship and EFL experience.

Among those is Callum O’Hare, who joined on a free from Coventry. The midfielder has been a consistently strong performer across two seasons for the Sky Blues and he looks like a smart addition.

The Blades also added Bournemouth’s Kieffer Moore on a permanent deal, ending a string of loan spells for the Welshman.

Moore has never quite been able to crack the Premier League, but he’s a great finisher in the second tier. He’s expected to get plenty of chances in Wilder’s side, with Moore a 16/1 chance to finish as top scorer.

United have also added full-back depth with Jamie Shackleton, Sam McCallum and Harrison Burrows and they’ve made six signings in total, with goalkeeper Henry Molyneux joining from Charlton.

That has left the Blades lacking in depth, but they have serious quality. If they can address their off-field issues with the ownership, Wilder should be able to put together a serious promotion contender.

During his first spell with his hometown club, Wilder took the Blades from the bottom of League One to the Premier League in less than three years.

A ninth-place finish followed, before behind-closed-doors games in 2020/21 saw them struggle.

Wilder has brought success to Bramall Lane when he’s had backing. He certainly has issues to iron out in the short term, but with the top of the Championship looking wide open, the Blades cannot be written off.