New Leicester City manager Steve Cooper made the decision to allow Harry Souttar to leave on loan this summer, with Sheffield United the club that secured a deal.
Harry Souttar found himself out in the cold last season under Enzo Maresca as Leicester City won the Championship title.
Having only been signed in January 2023, the Australia international made just one league start for Leicester last season before being allowed to join Stoke City on loan for the second half of the campaign.
It was thought that the man Leicester spent £15 million to sign just 18 months ago could be given a chance when Steve Cooper came in but that has not materialised with Souttar joining recently-relegated Sheffield United on loan for the season.
Leicester City loanee Harry Souttar ‘dominant’ on Sheffield United debut
Souttar watched on from the bench as Sheffield United beat Preston 2-0 in their opening Championship fixture at the weekend.
However, the 25-year-old was handed his debut for his new side in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night and was surprisingly given the captain’s armband on his first appearance.
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Sheffield United beat League One Wrexham 4-2 in a game that had the potential to be a banana skin and Souttar looked immediately at ease as he completed the ninety minutes.
The Star were certainly impressed with what they saw from the new Sheffield United man, rating Souttar’s performance a seven-and-a-half out of ten, commenting: “Led the Blades out wearing the armband on his debut and for a man who’s barely played any club football for a long time he snapped back into the rhythm of it easily, albeit against a side playing below the level he has experienced for a while now.
“Absolutely aerially dominant – as you’d rather expect from a man who stands 6ft 7ins tall – but his best moment of the game almost came with his feet after the ball fell kindly to him in the Wrexham area, but he put his shot just wide of the post.
“Towering at the back post to win the header for Slimane’s fourth.”
Souttar performance against Wrexham gives Chris Wilder a decision to make
Wilder will be pleased with Souttar’s debut and the giant defender may well have played his way into his new manager’s side for their next game at home to QPR on Saturday.
Jack Robinson and Anel Ahmedhodzic were the central defensive pairing for the season-opener, but Wilder claimed post-match that Souttar has now given him a “big problem”.
Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield: “We’re after balance and depth and competition. We need that squad. You look at Burnley’s team [on Monday evening] and the bench: that’s going to be key for a lot of teams and lots of strength in depth.
“I need big problems and I have a big problem now because Souttar has been brilliant but Anel was brilliant on Friday night.
“Those are the problems I want and if [Cooper and Rak-Sakyi] come in they certainly add to the group.”
If Souttar can have a solid season on loan it can only be a good thing for Leicester as it should drive up his price for a sale next summer if he is to have no future at the club.