Sheffield United are under “no pressure” to sell Max Lowe this summer, after his Nottingham Forest spell.
The defender has made no secret of his wish to remain at the City Ground, having spent the season on loan at the club. But Blades CEO Stephen Bettis has hinted a bid was rejected from the Reds in the January transfer window, and says boss Paul Heckingbottom will be given time to assess his options.
Lowe made his comeback from injury in Sunday’s promotion decider against Huddersfield Town. After being sidelined since March, he came off the bench for the final 15 minutes as Forest sealed their return to the Premier League with a 1-0 win.
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On Lowe’s future, Bettis told YorkshireLive: "It's up to Paul. We have three players in that position.
“In an ideal world there is no pressure from our side for Paul to sell Max. Paul likes to keep the squad balanced and if there is a potential to sell one of those players and use that money elsewhere in the squad that may be something that gets considered.
"We are not sat here at the moment telling Paul he needs to sell Max. We did have an offer for Max in January, which we turned down. We were not interested in doing that, and actually Max was put out on loan by Slav (previous manager Slavisa Jokanovic) at the start of the season. It wasn't Paul's decision.
"He now has the time to take a look at all three of the players and the squad in general, and if there are any changes he wants to make we can discuss them." Asked if the bid in January was from Forest, he added: "I couldn't comment but you'll probably work it out for yourself, is the answer."
United also have Enda Stevens and Rhys Norrington-Davies as left wing-back options, while ex-Red Ben Osborn is also capable of filling in. YorkshireLive report “it is expected” one of Lowe, Stevens and Norrington-Davies will leave in the summer.
Lowe has two years left on his contract at Bramall Lane. But the Blades hold an option to extend that by a further 12 months, depending on appearances.
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In March, Lowe said: “I appreciate the way I’m getting treated as a player and as a person. I can’t look beyond this season, but I’m happy playing football at Forest at the moment.
“The gaffer knows that and everyone at the club knows how much I want to stay. But that’s not in my hands, so I’m just going to keep playing as well as I can each week and do my part to help the team.”
