Sheffield United have decided they’ll sell midfielder Ismaila Coulibaly in January, amid interest from Sweden.
Coulibaly has failed to make an impression at Bramall Lane ever since arriving from Sarpsborg. A number of sporadic appearances here and there have hardly caught the eye.
Coulibaly was the subject of interest from AC Milan, while it was only in 2021 that Sky claimed Galatasaray were ready to bid £12.9m for him. But now, it looks like he’s on his way to northern Europe.
According to Swedish outlet Fotboll Direkt, AIK are planning to sign Coulibaly in January and the player is open to the move as well. Further, it’s believed United won’t stand in his way either, meaning a transfer is more or less nailed on come the winter window.
The 22-year-old played a small role last season with his best performance coming against Spurs in the FA Cup. He was rewarded for his role in that cup run by getting on the pitch in the final at Wembley.
Coulibaly signing has just not worked out
There’s probably little in the way of finger pointing to be done here.
United took a small gamble on a player for a nominal fee in the hope he’d become a star. Sadly, for different reasons including injuries, it’s not quite worked out for Coulibaly.
With United needing to refresh the squad now, it’s probably a good time for him to be moved on.
The Blades will likely get a small fee for the Mali midfielder and clear a small wage as well. That all goes towards Chris Wilder’s budget for January, if there is any.
There is an element of shame in it not working out for Coulibaly. He must have something in the bag given those links to Milan and more.
However, it does seem like injuries have done him over a bit and sadly, it’s time for everyone to move on.