Sheffield United have started their planning for the Premier League by announcing their retained list ahead of a busy summer of recruitment.

Chris Wilder's side missed out on the Championship title to Norwich City, but secured their main aim of automatic promotion ahead of Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.

This is the second promotion Wilder has achieved in his three excellent seasons at the club, but this left his Premier League-bound side with a group of players who are not quite up to the demands of the top-flight.

It may have seemed easy for Wilder to release these players, but there would have been some difficult decisions for Wilder to make in letting go of players who had played a significant role in the club's rise.

As a result, Wilder has needed to make some tough calls in the announcement of his retained list in order to free up space in the squad for potential incomings.

[ad_pod ]

 

The list of players set to leave the club includes Conor Washington, Martin Cranie, Daniel Lafferty, Caoloan Lavery and Paul Coutts.

Blades fans would have been particularly sad to see Coutts leave the club after his sensational performances during the club's promotion from League One.

However, the 30-year-old has not featured with regularity in the Championship, and this means he is unlikely to be able to cut it in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Cranie's release would have also been a difficult decision. The experienced defender played a prominent role during the Championship's final run-in this season, after being largely absent before Christmas during his debut season at the club.

However, the former England U21 did not feature for Huddersfield in the Premier League, which suggests the step up a division may have proved too much for him.

Therefore, Wilder has shown superb leadership skills by only maintaining players who he feels can progress his side. The likes of Coutts and Cranie are clearly held in high regard at Bramall Lane, but Wilder still sees the Blades as a side in progress and he is only interested in players who can help take his squad to the next level.

Sheffield United fans will be sorry to see some of these players leave, but they were ultimately the right decisions.