Sheffield United might have announce the signing of Filip Uremovic today in what is exciting news for fans, but there has also been another new face around Shirecliffe today.
That man is a certain Ismaila Coulibaly. The young Mali international has been over in Belgium with Beerschot as he tries to make a name for himself before coming back to United in the future. But it appears Paul Heckingbottom has used the international break to take a closer look at Coulibaly himself.
Pictured on the official Sheffield United Twitter account today, Coulibaly was spotted in first-team training with Heckingbottom’s men. As confirmed in the tweet, Coulibaly is simply here for training, and will return to Beerschot when the international period is over.
Sheffield United fans have long been expectant of the impact Coulibaly could have at the club. The youngster was signed by the club without any input from former manager Chris Wilder. That is thought to have proved contentious and one of the reasons why Wilder was left bemused with the club.
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AC Milan are thought to have registered an interest in Coulibaly in the past. The midfielder has missed much of this season with a back injury but is now back fit. He’s played 18 times for Beerschot, who sit bottom of a the Belgian league by a whopping 11 points.
Our View: Nice To See Coulibaly Back At Sheffield United
This is a smart move by Heckingbottom. There is no intention for the Blades to include or think about playing Coulibaly between now and May. But there is no harm in seeing how he is getting on either.
Calling him back will give Coulibaly the chance to test himself against high-end Championship players for a few days.
With that, it also gives Hecky and his coaches a good indication of what they might need to do when it comes to Coulibaly and next season.
