"A huge impact" - Football Finance expert explains benefits of Sheffield United takeover | OneFootball

FLW spoke to Dr Dan Plumley to collect his thoughts on the impact of Sheffield United's takeover.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Football Finance expert Dr Dan Plumley has explained the potential short and long-term impact of Sheffield United's takeover.

Signed, sealed, delivered: for COH Sports, Sheffield United is all theirs. There were points when the group looked like they might fall short in their pursuit of a piece of the Blades pie, but they have now got their slice. The club have reportedly been in takeover talks with an American consortium since May. Then, as we approached the end of 2024, it was reported that all the documents had been signed.

It's fair to say that their fortunes off the pitch have been mixed, to say the least, in recent years, with promotion to the Premier League last year then followed by a dismal top-flight campaign. It saw them amass just 16 points as Chris Wilder returned to the Bramall Lane dugout.

Sheffield United were, of course, looking to put the disappointment of last season behind them, in order to rebuild, re-group, and to go again. In spite of the need to get the takeover situation resolved behind the scenes for the entirety of the summer, they have been inside the top two in the Championship for most of the season.

However, a takeover would lift the mood even further, securing more much-needed cash for acquisitions. The Bramall Lane faithful will hope that the proposed takeover from Steve Rosen's consortium can help on that front.

The financial verdict on Sheffield United's takeover from Dr Dan Plumley

The group, who are led by Ohio-based business persons Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, have had to get over a lot of hurdles and jump through many hoops to get to this point, but they have finally achieved what they had so desired. It was timely, to say the least, coming just before the January window opened.

The lack of funds in the summer meant they were restricted somewhat during that period, but they still made some very shrewd moves in the transfer market to strengthen their squad after being relegated from the Premier League, even if it was one mostly consisting of free-agent acquisitions and loans.

However, it was clear heading towards January that further backing is now required to bolster Wilder's ranks. We asked Dr Dan Plumley just how big of a boost it is financially for Sheffield United now their takeover has been completed.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World via Bet Ideas, he said: "A huge impact.

"They’ve been successful on the pitch so far; they’re in a great position in the Championship.

"If they can secure promotion back to the Premier League within one season, that will have a particularly positive impact on their finances in regard to parachute payments.

"The owners appear to be doing all the right things - we’ve already seen them splash the money in January with two new strikers.

"They have long-term plans and they’ve tied the manager down to a new contract. With significant wealth and backing from the ownership group, they seem to be on the right path."

Sheffield United are a club on the rise in the Championship

Sheffield United fans have experienced a number of false dawns in recent years. For some time, they just wanted the takeover saga to be over and for a new owner to be installed. Now, with four signings already in January, and more seemingly on the way, they can focus on the objective of promotion solely.

They are expected to be there or thereabouts come the end of the campaign, in part due to quality operators at their disposal who have been there and done it in the Championship, and the influence of Wilder as well. Sheffield United could not afford to sit still in the winter, though, with many of the promotion contenders expected to strengthen.

It is the job of their boss to live up to those expectations and deliver, but he also had a thin squad which could quickly fall apart through just a small handful of serious injuries. That proved to be the case towards the back-end of December and highlighted their need for more investment and the resources to continue their assault on the automatic promotion places.

Despite some impressive acquisitions this month, the Blades faithful will also be keen to see their club source a replacement for star defender Harry Souttar, after the loanee had to return to parent club Leicester in the wake of a season-ending injury.