Sheffield United reportedly on the verge of sacking Chris Wilder

Sheffield United are set to axe Chris Wilder after the club failed to win promotion back to the Premier League, according to a report.

The Blades were in automatic promotion contention for the majority of the 2024/25 campaign, but their form deteriorated at a pivotal stage of the season and despite making the Championship play-off final, Wilder's men were defeated 2-1 by Sunderland at Wembley.

According to a report in the Telegraph, Wilder is now expected to be dismissed by the club's new ownership, the American-based consortium COH Sports.

The consortium completed their takeover of the club in December last year and immediately set about implementing an artificial intelligence model in their recruitment strategy, which is understood to have caused fractures in Wilder's relationship with the Blades hierarchy.

Wilder returned to his boyhood club in December 2023 when Sheffield United were rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

Unable to spare the Blades of relegation, Wilder oversaw a strong start on their return to the Championship as they clocked up 15 wins from their opening 22 matches to sit top of the table at Christmas, despite starting the season with a two-point deduction for defaulting on payments to other clubs.

Sheffield United even returned to the summit at the end of March but three successive defeats to Oxford United, Millwall and Plymouth Argyle saw their automatic promotion chances crumble and they were condemned to a play-off spot following a 2-1 defeat to promotion rivals Burnley.

The Blades dispatched Bristol City with ease in the play-off semi-finals and the Steel City outfit were 15 minutes from bouncing back immediately to the top-flight before Sunderland came from behind to triumph in dramatic fashion courtesy of Tom Watson's stoppage time winner.

Reflecting on his side's defeat to Sunderland in the play-off final, Wilder said: “We’ve had the taste of Premier League, we know what a great experience it is and the experience that they’ll have next season.

“It’s going to take quite a while to get over this and we’re going to have to suffer and go through the pain.”

Wilder's pending departure adds to the significant managerial turnover in the second tier since the conclusion of the 2024/25 season.

Norwich City, Watford, Hull City, West Brom and Southampton have all appointed new managers, while the Bristol City and Middlesbrough posts are currently vacant.

There could be more movement on the horizon as well with Marti Cifuentes' future at QPR yet to be resolved and Danny Rohl's position at Sheffield Wednesday appearing increasingly tenuous.

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Jaquob Crooke

• Sheffield United F.C.
• Championship
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