The Ruben Selles era at Sheffield United is underway, and that has proceeded with the new head coach targeting one of his favourite former players.
With the 2025/26 Championship campaign weeks away, Ruben Selles has been busy making preparations during his first weeks as Sheffield United boss.
Selles replaced Chris Wilder at Bramall Lane, in the wake of the Championship play-off final defeat to Sunderland, mere months after Selles was sacked by Hull City.
The Spaniard must vindicate the club’s decision quickly, after Blades fans called Wilder’s sacking “disgusting”, and the club have already been heavily involved in summer transfer window links.
Now, Selles is eyeing a reunion with a Premier League starlet at Sheffield United.
Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty ImagesSheffield United boss Ruben Selles eyeing reunion with Tyler Bindon
Sheffield United’s first summer signing came when Wilder was still in charge, as Ehije Ukaki arrived from Bulgarian side Botev Plovdiv, using the new ownership’s AI-driven recruitment model.
However, The Guardian now reports that new boss Selles has targeted his first summer signing for Sheffield United, in the form of Nottingham Forest centre-back Tyler Bindon.
Before being appointed by Hull, Selles was head coach of League One Reading from the summer of 2023 until December 2024, where he departed with an impressive 45 percent win rate.
During his Reading tenure, Selles promoted Bindon to captain despite many more experienced players around him, which led the former Royals head coach to single out the Blades transfer target for praise.
In 2024, Selles said via the Reading Chronicle: “Tyler is a very important player and has been growing in the last 18 months,”
“For me, it was the correct thing to do. He is mature enough and his character and mentality as a winner makes him always want to be in front of the team.
“It was a good opportunity to give him the little reward.”
Top Flight Nottingham Forest signed Bindon from Reading in the January window, and the 20-year-old was loaned back to Reading for the remainder of the 2024/25 League One campaign.
In which the Royals finished just three points shy of a play-off place in seventh, and Bindon was awarded as Reading’s Player of the 2024/25 season.
Now, Selles is targeting a reunion with former Royals ace Bindon at Sheffield United, and his statistics from last season prove why the New Zealand international would be a brilliant acquisition for the Blades.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesTyler Bindon would be ideal signing for Sheffield United as other moves fail
Throughout the summer window, Sheffield United have been heavily linked with several centre-back transfer targets, and the two high-profile examples have failed to materialise yet.
Sheffield United targeted Jimmy Dunne and were poised to land his signature before Dunne signed a new QPR contract at Loftus Road ahead of the defender becoming a Championship free agent.
Aside from Dunne, former Sunderland loanee Chris Mepham has been targeted by Sheffield United, but his future remains uncertain after parent club Bournemouth triggered a one-year extension to his deal.
As well as that, EFL Analysis revealed earlier in June that Burnley could sign Mepham, in a further blow to Sheffield United.
Tyler Bindon’s key statistics in 2024/25 League One season for Reading, data as per Fotmob
With two longstanding central defensive targets faltering, the acquisition of Bindon would be an impressive coup for the Blades.
The 20-year-old has already cemented himself as one of the best young defenders in English football, and if Selles can complete the Reading reunion at Bramall Lane, Bindon would be a stellar addition to the Sheffield United backline.