It looks like Sheffield United will be returning to join Preston North End in the Championship next season, even with a few weeks of the season still to go.
PNE still have lingering hopes of sneaking into the Championship play-off places, but Monday’s 1-0 defeat at Birmingham City was a huge blow.
North End currently sit five points off the top six and it’s a big ask to claw back that gap, but not impossible.
Sheffield United fate seems a little more concrete as they sit rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table with just 15 points from 29 games.
Three wins all season means Sheffield United are 10 points adrift of safety and almost certainly heading back to the second tier.
The Blades look likely to be facing PNE next season and boast a fine record against North End in recent campaigns; they have lost just one of the last eight meetings between the two sides.
United would be looking to try and engineer an immediate return to the top flight, and have now called upon a former PNE man to try and spark a revival after a disappointing season.
Sheffield United land ex-PNE coach
The Sheffield Star report that Jamie Hoyland is returning to Bramall Lane in a ‘key recruitment position’ ahead of the summer transfer window.
Hoyland is a boyhood Sheffield United fan and a former Blade from his playing days, turning out for the club in the 90’s.
The 58-year-old found his way to PNE in 2006, working as the club’s Under-18’s manager before leaving the club under Graham Westley in 2012.
Hoyland took up a coaching role with Sheffield United but has focused on scouting ever since.
Initially charged with the task of finding players for England at both youth and senior level, Hoyland has most recently served as a scout for Everton and West Ham United.
Now seemingly taking charge of Sheffield United’s recruitment, Hoyland will have a big task on his hands as he looks to shape the squad at Bramall Lane.
Jamie Hoyland could help decide former PNE target’s future
One of the decisions facing Hoyland and co is whether or not to keep hold of Yasser Larouci.
The Blades have taken Larouci on loan from French side Troyes for the season, but he has managed just nine Premier League appearances – only four of which have been starts.
The 23-year-old is unlikely to have done enough to stay permanently just a year since PNE missed out.
North End were interested in signing Larouci last summer but ended up missing out as he moved to Sheffield United instead.
Larouci is likely to be heading back to Troyes and it remains to be seen whether PNE rekindle that 2023 interested this summer.