Sheffield United's newest recruit, Sam Curtis, has revealed he joined the club because he feels the club is on the "rise."
Curtis was one of the brightest prospects in Ireland and is already a Republic of Ireland U21 international despite his age.
The Meath native has made 60 appearances for St. Patrick's Athletic since joining them in 2021 from Shamrock Rovers. He became St. Pat’s youngest-ever player when he debuted at the age of 15 and 255 days old.
Curtis was also instrumental in St. Pat’s recent FAI Cup win in 2023. Many have backed him to become a senior Ireland regular and a mainstay in the Premier League for years to come.
The Irish teenager has now made his move. He's made the move to Premier League side Sheffield United until the end of 2026–27.
Sam Curtis is a Blade! ⚔️☘️#FáilteSam #SUFC
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) January 25, 2024
"I ultimately made the decision to come here because I think the club is on the rise and, obviously, Chris Wilder is back in as manager, which is good. You can see that the club loves him, and all the players really respect him. I do think the club is on the up; you can see that in recent performances. It is getting better game-by-game," he said on the club's website.
"The thing that has impressed me so far is how I have been welcomed with open arms. Coming in, all the players straight away introduced themselves to me, which is really helpful coming from a different country, so that was a big thing for me."
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder also added his take on the move and said that former Ireland player Keith Andrews had a part to play in his move and that it was something that they couldn't turn down.
"Sam is one for the future, and we are looking forward to seeing how he progresses at Shirecliffe. He's a player who Keith Andrews knows well, and we think he will benefit from being in our environment. Of course, we spoke about players that we were signing in January as potential starters, but Sam is different, and we could not turn down the opportunity to bring him to United," Wilder added.
