What Sheffield United have said internally about Rhian Brewster's situation at Bramall Lane | OneFootball

Sheffield United remain in discussions with forward Rhian Brewster over his future at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United have confirmed that they are in talks with forward Rhian Brewster over his future at Bramall Lane after missing out on promotion to the Premier League.

Sheffield United looked to be in pole position to achieve automatic promotion, but three consecutive defeats against Oxford United, Millwall and Plymouth Argyle in early April dealt a serious blow to their top two hopes, and they eventually finished the season in third place.

The Blades bounced back well from that disappointment as they secured a record-breaking 6-0 aggregate victory over Bristol City in their play-off semi-final, but they suffered heartbreak as they were beaten 2-1 by Sunderland in the final at Wembley on Saturday.

After a dominant start, United deservedly took the lead in the 25th minute through Tyrese Campbell, and they thought they had doubled their advantage just a few minutes later, but Harrison Burrows' strike was ruled out for offside.

Despite having less of the ball in the second half, Chris Wilder's side seemed on course to see the game out, but that all changed when Eliezer Mayenda equalised in the 76th minute, and Tommy Watson won it for the Black Cats in the fifth minute of stoppage time to condemn the Blades to another season in the Championship.

As the dust settles on their agonising Wembley loss, United are starting to put plans in place for the new season, and with his contract set to expire this summer, Brewster's future remains uncertain.

Sheffield United provide big update on Rhian Brewster's future

Sheffield United revealed their released and retained list on Thursday, confirming that defender Jack Robinson has triggered a one-year contract extension after reaching a specific number of appearances, while loanees Alfie Gilchrist, Harry Clarke, Rob Holding, Harry Souttar, Hamza Choudhury, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Ben Brereton Diaz have returned to their parent clubs.

With the rest of the first-team squad under contract, Brewster is the only player whose future still needs to be resolved, and the Blades are in discussions with the 25-year-old over his situation at Bramall Lane.

Brewster became United's club-record signing when he arrived from Liverpool for a fee of £23.5 million in October 2020, but it is fair to say he has struggled to live up to that price tag, scoring just nine goals and providing four assists in 119 appearances over the past five years.

The forward enjoyed the best season of his Blades career this campaign as he netted four goals and registered three assists, but he failed to nail down a regular place in the team, with only 21 of his 42 appearances coming from the start, although Wilder did include him in the line-up for the play-off final against Sunderland on Saturday.

While Brewster's future is still up in the air, Wilder made no secret of his desire to tie him down to a new contract in February, telling The Star: "We're in discussions with Rhian and his representatives. I'd love him to stay. I'm a big fan. I don't go along with what people say. The boy didn't want to get injured.

"I've talked about that before but he's having a run of games and being fit and healthy, he's part of a front group which I'm delighted to have. We have real options now. Rhian starting and coming off the bench is a fabulous one and I'd love him to get that deal sorted out. His agent's talking to the club and hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement and arrangement."

Wilder has made it clear that he is a big fan of Brewster, recently stating that Sheffield United "have not seen the best" of him, but as discussions continue over his future, it remains to be seen whether owners Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy share that view.

Brewster was involved in some important moments for the Blades this season as they narrowly missed out on promotion, most notably netting the winner in the 1-0 victory over rivals Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City derby at Hillsborough in March.

However, Brewster's overall goal record during his time at Bramall Lane does not make for good reading, particularly given the significant fee the club paid for his services, and United must now decide whether he has done enough to earn a new contract.