Sheffield United are reportedly planning to offer Town £3 million for central defender Luke Woolfenden.

News of the Blades’ interest in the 21-year-old emerged over the weekend and, according to The Sun, manager Chris Wilder is “ready to pay” £3 million for Woolfenden his scouts having given him rave reviews.

Wilder is also said to be targeting a £7 million move for Anderlecht's Belgium international centre-half Elias Cobbaut.

Academy product Woolfenden is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2022 with the club having an option for a further season.

Asked about interest in Woolfenden and midfielder Flynn Downes on BBC Radio Suffolk's Life’s a Pitch on Saturday, general manager of football operations Lee O’Neill said Town are keen to hold on to their young players but didn’t entirely rule out their departures.

“Those players that you’ve mentioned, I’m sure they are on other clubs’ radars and lists,” he said.

“The football club doesn’t want to be in a situation to sell our young players, they’re here for us to try and help our club to go forward.

“As [owner] Marcus [Evans] has said and [manager] Paul [Lambert] has come out and said on a number of occasions, if there’s an economic business situation we cannot turn down then we’d have to look at it separately.

“But the plan is we want those young players to be here, along with the senior players to drive the club forward.”

He added that no firm offers had been received: “We’ve had no bids for our players. We’ve had enquiries about whether would we sell, similar to you asking the questions now. They know the good players.

“We’ll have scouts at this game today, we’ll have scouts at every game we play. If they’re playing well, they’re on other clubs’ lists.

“They’re also international players that play for their countries, so they’re on other people’s radars from that side of things.”

Photo: TWTD

BettyBlue added 11:06 - Jan 14 Goodbye Luke Woolfenden. Is there a cheaper cheapskate than Evans?? Is here a cheaper option than the lad from Preston on loan? Has Evans and Lambert given up on promotion this season and are going to hide behind their pathetic 5 year plan??
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BettyBlue added 11:07 - Jan 14 #EvanOut
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hampstead_blue added 11:08 - Jan 14 Sad. Feeling very sad and angry.
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BettyBlue added 11:09 - Jan 14 If Woolfenden doesn't play tonight say goodbye to promotion. #LambertOut #EvansOut
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DurhamTownFan added 11:20 - Jan 14 As usual,, our fans don't really have an accurate grasps of what players actually cost. We're in league 1. Usually clubs pay the cost of the players wages for the rest of the contract, plus a bit more based on how generous they feel and how desperate they think the selling club is. Under ME, we are fairly desperate for incoming transfer fees. I'm sorry if you don't like hearing it, but 3 million is about right. When did you last see a league 1 player going for more than that?

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leftie1972 added 11:21 - Jan 14 NO NO NO.
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casanovacrow added 11:23 - Jan 14 @itfcbam Maddison would have been out of contract at the end of the season. Peterborough did well to get what they did. Darragh MacAnthony always does well getting fair money, he doesn't buckle like Evans.
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BlueySwede added 11:25 - Jan 14 Are some "fans" for real? We can´t do anything about other clubs bidding on our players! Hardly Evans or Lamberts fault. Yes, if Woolfenden leaves for 3M that is much too low. However we are Ipswich Town, if we were offered silly money and the players would want to leave, there is little we can do. We have ALWAYS been a selling club, and so are most clubs if they are not Man City, Liverpool, etc. With all this said I really hope that Woolfenden and Downes stays for a few years, best players from our academy in many years and two players I hope we will build around.

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SouperJim added 11:29 - Jan 14 The important bit here is "according to The Sun".
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Bluearmy_81 added 11:33 - Jan 14 In the event of him going town fans would be like... 😐 Gutless and pathetic
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Cloddyseedbed added 11:37 - Jan 14 You do not sell your best players for a knock down price when you are going for promotion. You need to assist your manager not constantly take his best tools away so he is always fighting a loosing battle. Sell at the end of the season if necessary for a true value, not a knock down price that is being banded about now. Has this club learn't nothing?
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ArnieM added 11:42 - Jan 14 Two words for the scum of the north : Piss off !
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brendenward35 added 11:43 - Jan 14 I think Evans will use his head and hold onto him not sell him like he has done before, unless a stupid offer comes in and it unsettles the player then he'll still be here helping us go for promotion.
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oldbri added 11:46 - Jan 14 Well said SouperJim , short but spot on. The only thing true in the Sun is the date on the front.
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planetblue_2011 added 11:46 - Jan 14 I reckon Evans will take 4m for him & be loaned back to us. If he can just wait another season he'll be double the price. Remember Lambo saying start of the season that Woolfenden might not be ready for league 1 football!! 👀 at home now🤔
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planetblue_2011 added 11:48 - Jan 14 Him now
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rabbit added 11:52 - Jan 14 Bluearmy_81 You really do hate ITFC and all its fans no idea why you persist in antagonising them with such immature rhetoric.
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Bluearmy_81 added 11:55 - Jan 14 Rabbit, I love ITFC, that's why I can't bear the self harm it undertakes relentlessly. If you can't understand that I can't help you..
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BeattiesBackPocket added 11:59 - Jan 14 We always undersell our players and that's because clubs know we as a club are easy pickings and that Evans will accept look at Webster prime example City knew we were a selling club and we sell for 5 mill then he goes only a year later for 25 million because city don't need to sell unless it's right for them but we do! And people wonder why our debts as shocking in his ten years as it is!! Minimum 10 million for him or Downes that's it we have to be harder with teams! If he goes for 3 million there will be protests starting with a lot of fans handing over and cancelling season tickets.

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roystevensonsrocket added 12:04 - Jan 14 If we have to sell for a decent price then why can't we arrange they are loaned back to us until the end of the season . If they wanted to go we can't really stop them . Remember how Judge lost his form completely after not going to QPR
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oH_bluey added 12:19 - Jan 14 Does anyone else get the sneaky suspicion that we only played the Sheff U system to showcase Wolf can fit in at Brammall Lane, thus making this sale?? I hope not but Evans has always been happy to sell our best youngsters and I'm sure that he'd love £3m for these makeovers at Portman Rd!
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mow_the_lawn added 12:27 - Jan 14 I'd hate him to leave. He's worth far more than £3m to us, but that's not how the market works. I think that's a fair offer from Sheff Utd. He's only really done one season in League Two and half a season in League One in a team that are one of the favourites to go up. It's a huge jump to Premiership from League One especially for a defender. They wouldn't play him for a year or so anyway I suspect. Probably keep him here on loan until the end of the season, then loan him to a championship club (hopefully us again) the following season and depending on how he does, look to integrate him into their team then. £3m is quite a big gamble for a team like Sheff Utd.

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kingcarloss added 12:29 - Jan 14 The fee will be undisclosed, cloak & dagger dealings. So safe to say £3m will be the price with sell on clause. So so predictable.
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ITFCsince73 added 12:32 - Jan 14 I predicted 18 months back the Woolf was Premier league bound. The opening game last season V Blackburn, was confirmation. I followed his progress with Swindon thereafter. Sheff Utd maybe are showing intrest, along with half a dozen other clubs. I would imagine £3m in this window would get you his left leg. A classy modern day centre half in the making imo.
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Skip73 added 12:33 - Jan 14 3m is hardly a ridiculous offer, so it should be a big fat no. Hold out for at least treble that.
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