Sheffield United have confirmed that Jan Van Wickel has resigned from his position as director of the football club.

Van Winckel joined the Championship side's board back in 2017 and todays announcement brings his time at Bramall Lane to an end.

In a statement released this afternoon, Van Winckel himself explained the reasoning behind his decision.

On the Blades official website, he wrote: "Today I have offered my resignation from the board of Sheffield United and the board of United World."

"I have recently extended my consultancy contract at the United Arab Emirates Football Association. I was re-elected as acting director of the Belgian Professional Coaches, and I am close to signing an agreement closer to my family.

"I have always tried to fulfil my roles as a board member with dedication and passion. But due to time constraints and constant traveling, I do not feel I can spend enough time at the different boards to fulfil my role to the level that all our clubs deserve.

"Therefore I believe that it is the right time to offer my resignation."

 

 

Speaking as part of the announcement, Sheffield United chairman Yusuf Giansiracusa said that he had reluctantly accepted Van Winckel's resignation.

The Blades chairman wrote: "While I understand Jan's reasons for resigning, I have accepted his resignation with great regret."

"Jan has a superlative understanding of the game of football and has always been a valuable resource for the board.

"I wish him every success with his other endeavours and take solace in the knowledge that his family will be seeing more of him."

The Verdict

Given his statement, this perhaps doesn't come as a surprise.

Van Winckel appears to be a highly respected figure in the game, and, as such, has plenty of commitments to handle simultaneously.

It simply appears that with further responsibilities elsewhere, he is now unable to fully commit the time he feels is required in the role at Bramall Lane and has therefore tendered his resignation.

Sheffield United's chairman was clearly reluctant for him to leave, and made that point clear in his remarks above, however, in these sorts of scenarios, little can be done to convince the resigning staff member to remain.

It will be interesting to see how and when the Blades go about replacing Van Winckel as director.