Sheffield United 'face Championship challenge' in bid to sign teenage prospect

Sheffield United are one of two clubs embroiled in a battle to sign Irish prospect Sam Curtis this month. That's according to The Irish Sun, who claim the Blades and Hull City are competing to land the 18-year-old, who is looks set to leave League of Ireland outfit St Patrick's Athletic.

Curtis is yet to make a decision on where his immediate future lies, but the report claims he has made visits to both South and East Yorkshire this month to speak with the two clubs. The right-back hasn't been short of interest and is said to have cropped up on the radars of Manchester City and Chelsea in the past, while he has also trained with the likes of Roma, Feyenoord and Bayer Leverkusen.

But, he has whittled his choices down to two clubs and it seems his final decision might come down to his immediate game time prospects as he looks to make swift progress in the English game. With his contract at St Pat's coming to an end, the Blades wouldn't have to pay a transfer fee for Curtis, but the report does claim that his current club would be entitled to compensation.

The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international only turned 18 in December, but he already has 60 first-team appearances under his belt for St Pat's, with three goals and six assists on his record. The full-back, who can also play as a centre-back, made a league debut when he was just 14 years of age.

That outing came in the colours of Shamrock Rovers before he made the switch to join St Pat's in 2021. Since then he has been a key member of the club's backline and last season he got his hands on the FAI Cup, while was also named the PFAI Young Player of the Year.

The Blades aren't short of full-back options at present with George Baldock, Jayden Bogle and Femi Seriki in the first-team picture and that might limit Curtis' short-term chances of game time, but if he were to choose Bramall Lane, the hope would be that he could challenge for a spot before too long.