"Does need to leave" - Norwich City: Grant Hanley exit touted amid Sheffield United, Blackburn interest | OneFootball

Tipped as a potential Harry Souttar replacement at Sheffield United, Grant Hanley's interest from above is surprising many at Carrow Road

Sheffield United are reportedly looking at signing Norwich City outcast Grant Hanley, according to a report from Alan Nixon via his Patreon page.

The Scotland international has played just 78 minutes of Championship football during the current campaign, and with his contract expiring this summer, the 33-year-old is seemingly accelerating to the conclusion of his more-than-seven-year stint at Carrow Road.

The Blades' interest presumably emanates from the unfortunate achilles injury to Leicester City loanee Harry Souttar, who could be out for the best part of a year.

It's not just United who are keen on Hanley though, with Nixon claiming that Blackburn Rovers are keen on re-uniting with the centre-half, some nine years after selling him to Newcastle United.

But with Hanley's Norfolk career currently out in the cold, does this move inspire any of the parties involved?

Norwich City "ready to move away" from Grant Hanley

Amid the rumours, FLW's Canaries fan pundit, Zeke Downes, believes that Hanley's time at the club has come to its natural conclusion, encouraging Johannes Hoff Thorup to look towards an exciting academy player as his replacement.

"I'm not surprised that Hanley is getting some interest from other teams in the league. I am surprised, however, that it's one of the teams that is higher up, because he's had alot of injuries.

"He's on the older side now, but he's got a lot of experience. He's won the league twice, and he's been at Norwich for the best part of eight years now, so it is a long time, and we are definitely ready to move away from him.

"I do think that he does need to leave. I don't know whether it's going to be in this window or at the end of the season, but if someone goes in for him and offers us a little bit of money, then obviously I'd rather that than him leaving for nothing.

"He isn't going to play any part in our team now. I don't think he's right for our style of play at all. When he leaves, we're going to need to get another centre-back in instead, or, I think, utilise Brad Hills, but that seems to be something that JHT is doing slowly.

"He's using Hills in the squad a little bit, but he's not giving him much game time yet. It'll be interesting to see how that fares, especially with Duffy ageing and Doyle being on loan. That could leave us with not very much at the end of the season."

Norwich City: Grant Hanley's experience could be missed, but Brad Hills should be ready to step up

Hypothesizing Hanley's eventual departure, Downes recommends that this could be an exciting opportunity to bump Norwich-born England U20 international, Brad Hills, up in the pecking order.

The 20-year-old central defender impressed in League Two last campaign, having played 41 times for Accrington Stanley in England's fourth-tier.

Despite Stanley's lower-mid-table performance, the young defender achieved an average FotMob rating of 7.2, while most significantly picking up the club's Player of the Season award for 2023-24.

While Hanley's departure does not open a starting berth, it will presumably entrust him with a more consistent position as next-in-command, allowing for the continued progression of what could soon be a talented fan favourite.