Sheffield United transfer news: Tom Cannon competition gives confidence Blades have landed a big gun
The 22-year-old centre-forward completed his move from Leicester City on Thursday, but his new club kept Hull City guessing about whether he was registered in time to face them in Friday’s Championship game.
At around £10m plus add-ons, Cannon is the most expensive purchase the Blades have made outside of their time in the Premier League, and Wilder believes they are have landed a big gun.
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Hide Ad“We've beaten off a lot of clubs,” he said proudly. “That doesn't automatically mean this is going to be a success but it does give you a little bit of comfort that there were some decent teams in for him and he wanted to come to us.


“He comes at a decent price, it's not loose change. There's add-ons as well, targets that are attainable and we'll be delighted to pay those.
“Sometimes people are adding £5m or £6m on deals (but) he has to win the Open, land on the moon, be Prime Minister at the same time and score 100 at Lord's.”
Cannon was highly regarded in Everton’s academy, and a loan at Preston North End earnt him a £7.5m move to Leicester in 2023.
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Hide AdStoke City outmuscled the Blades to Cannon's loan signing in the summer but now the Blades are under new ownership they have come up with a bid the Foxes found impossible to refuse.


“I heard nothing but good words about the place,” he said.
"He (Wilder) just filled me with a lot of confidence. He said nothing but good things about the club and the direction he wants to take it.”
Wilder must weigh up how to use Vinicius Souza and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi after injury, and will have a decision to make about Tom Davies sooner than he was expecting. Kieffer Moore, though, has succumbed to a hernia operation.
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Hide Ad“They'll be involved, whether they start and play 60 minutes or impact us as subs,” he said of the first two.
“It’s the same with Tyrese (Campbell), with the impact he had (as a substitute) on Tuesday, the same with Ben Brereton Diaz and Femi (Seriki).
“It's not just crash, bang, wallop, they’re in and going to play 95 minutes for the rest of the season.
“Tom wasn't as bad as first feared. He's not available for Hull. I do believe he'll be there or thereabouts for Derby or Portsmouth.
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Hide Ad“Kieffer's in Germany for a small procedure on a hernia, so he will be back in two or three weeks.
“We were always going to lose him but this was the time we thought was best. His illness pushed it back as well, that was pretty intense and he lost half a stone. That's the reason he missed the games.”
Cannon has made 25 appearances this season, all but one from the start. The most recent was in the FA Cup third round, so match fitness should not be a big issue for the 22-year-old.
Wilder expects to be tested by a relegation-threatened Hull side who have improved markedly since Ruben Selles replaced Tim Walter as coach.
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Hide Ad“I caught up with Ruben at one of the managers' meetings and I found him a really positive guy,” he said.
“He went into Southampton as a coach (then caretaker manager) and had a taste of the Premier League. He took the Reading job and made a difference in difficult circumstances and got offered the job at a Championship club (Hull). He's a talented manager, I like him.
“They've got nothing to lose. They've got some good players and they're signing some players as well, it's a local-ish derby so we're expecting their best in different ways.
“Yet again, we're going to have to dig deep and be good. We were really good against Norwich (in the last home game), and if we can replicate that we'll have a really good chance.”
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