Newcastle United centre-back Ciaran Clark was pursued by Sheffield United partly because of his contract situation at St James' Park, according to The Star.

The 32-year-old officially linked up with the Blades this week after being deemed surplus to requirements on Tyneside, with the defender previously training away from his parent side's first-team squad along with fellow outcasts Jeff Hendrick and Dwight Gayle.

He arrives at a fifth potential option in central defence, with Jack Robinson, John Egan and Chris Basham all performing well during the 2021/22 campaign and Anel Ahmedhodzic arriving from Malmo this summer in a seven-figure deal.

 

 

Although Clark only has one year left on his deal, Eddie Howe's side sanctioned a season-long loan move away from the club with the Irishman likely to have played his last game in a Newcastle shirt already.

This is partly why United manager Paul Heckingbottom decided to pursue this move because the Blades may want to secure a free transfer for the 32-year-old next summer if he thrives in red and white.

Only having a limited amount of funds to play with in recent windows, Heckingbottom or a potential successor could be limited in the amount they can spend once again if they remain in the second tier beyond the upcoming season.

The Star did stress, however, that Clark was also brought in due to his ability and experience, having plenty of Premier League games under his belt.

The Verdict:

This is a smart move from the Blades' boss who understandably wants to limit his reliance on loan players, with the departure of Morgan Gibbs-White leaving a huge void in their team.

Recruiting permanent players also means they are able to sell them on in the future and that could enable them to spend in the transfer market, whilst also remaining within the EFL's profitability and sustainability rules.

Clark may not be someone that will be able to be sold on for a huge amount in the future - but he's certainly a player that could provide stability and leadership at Bramall Lane if he remains there for at least two or three years.

Having players like him in for the longer term can help to reduce squad turnover and that can only be a good thing in their quest to have a settled side that's ready to fight for promotion once again.

Recruiting one or two loan players per season certainly won't do any harm, especially if they can be valuable contributors to the cause, but they need to be focusing on the bigger picture too despite wanting to get back to the top flight as quickly as possible.