Sheffield United transfer links hint at key position as Faitout Maouassa approach considered

Sheffield United may look to exploit their previous good connections in Belgian football if they follow up their reported interest in highly-rated left-wing man Faitout Maouassa this summer.

The 24-year-old Frenchman has arrived on United’s radar after an impressive season on loan with Montpellier in his homeland, contributing five goals and as many assists for the Ligue 1 outfit.

That form has predictably attracted interest from elsewhere, with clubs in Germany amongst those also monitoring his situation. Montpellier are keen to bring him back to Stade de la Mosson next season, with boss Michel Der Zakarian revealing earlier in the season that his club are “in talks” with Brugge about next season.

“I don’t know if we can keep him,” Der Zakarian said. “We’re in talks, we’ll see. Everything is still possible. He scores goals and makes his teammates score goals. He’s an efficient and performing player.”

Maouassa’s default instincts are attacking rather than any great defensive nous, and would be an intriguing proposition for United considering they are going into a league where they are expected to do a lot of defending next season after winning promotion to the Premier League.

But the link with Maouassa, as well as former West Ham man Arthur Masuaku, now at Beşiktaş in Turkey, suggests that the left wing-back region has been highlighted as something of a priority area for United’s recruitment staff this summer. Enda Stevens is out of contract at the end of this month while Rhys Norrington-Davies missed a large chunk of last season after damaging a hamstring. Max Lowe’s season was also curtailed in its penultimate game through injury.

United have good contacts in Belgium, through their ownership of Beerschot and previous dealings with Genk over signing Sander Berge. Brugge were amongst the clubs looking to prise away Berge during the last two transfer windows but their failure to do so has not harmed relations between the two clubs so as to make any potential deal for Maouassa unworkable.

With boss Paul Heckingbottom working to a budget of £20m this summer, Maouassa represents exactly the kind of value-for-money signing that United will be in the market for. United owner Prince Abdullah revealed recently that signings should either be loans to improve the side or young players with future potential and re-sale value, as he looks to reprofile United’s squad and bring down its average age.