Sheffield United are set to part ways with manager Chris Wilder after the club’s unsuccessful bid for Premier League promotion.
In what marks the end of Wilder’s second tenure at Bramall Lane, reports suggest that Ruben Selles, previously in charge of Southampton, Reading, and Hull, is set to be appointed as his successor.
The Blades wrapped up the Championship season in third place but were denied promotion after a dramatic last-minute loss to Sunderland in the play-off final.
Wilder, had been aiming to achieve a third promotion with the club he supported as a boy, but fell agonisingly short.
His exit leaves Coventry City as the only one of the three defeated play-off sides who will begin the next campaign with the same manager.
Wilder’s original stint at Sheffield United began in 2016. He steered the team to the League One title at the first time of asking, and by 2019 had returned them to the Premier League. Their top-flight comeback initially went better than expected, they finished ninth in their first season.
🚨🛑 Chris Wilder set to leave Sheffield United amicably as they’re now expected to part ways, as per @JPercyTelegraph.
Wilder’s disappointed but respects the ownership group want their own coach and he will always leave the door open as Sheffield man. pic.twitter.com/DFPEHS96Up
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 17, 2025
But a disastrous second campaign followed, and Wilder left in March 2021 with relegation all but sealed. He then took on roles at Middlesbrough and Watford before returning to South Yorkshire in December 2023, after Paul Heckingbottom was dismissed with the team rooted to the foot of the Premier League table.
The 2024-25 season began under challenging circumstances. The club was hit with a two-point deduction due to missed transfer payments from the previous year. Despite that, Sheffield United emerged as strong contenders at the top of the Championship.
In December, the club’s long-rumoured sale to US-based consortium COH Sports was completed. A month later, Wilder was rewarded with a fresh three-year contract.
By early spring, United sat two points clear at the top of the table with just seven matches remaining. But a disastrous run, defeats to Oxford United, Millwall, and Plymouth Argyle in the space of eight days derailed their promotion charge.
A fourth loss at Burnley ultimately forced them into the play-offs, even though they finished with 90 points.
They reached Wembley easily, overpowering Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals. At the national stadium, they took the lead against Sunderland and thought they had doubled it, only for VAR to controversially disallow the goal.
Sunderland equalised, and with Sheffield United temporarily down to 10 men due to an injury after using all their substitutions, Tommy Watson delivered a crushing blow with a 95th-minute winner.
