Sheffield United will be looking to kick-start their 2021/22 Championship campaign next month when they make their return to action following the international break.
The Blades have yet to adapt to life under the guidance of their new manager Slavisa Jokanovic.
A poor run of results in the second-tier in August has resulted in United dropping into the Championship relegation zone.
Yet to seal a victory in the Championship, the Blades know that a continuation of their underwhelming form at this level will have a profound impact on their hopes of achieving a relative amount of success this season.
Having recently bolstered his squad by signing Ben Davies on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool, Jokanovic could now be about to swoop for another Premier League player.
According to The Telegraph journalist Matt Law, the Blades are reportedly closing in on sealing a temporary move for Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane.
The 30-year-old, who has been capped on 26 occasions by the Republic of Ireland at international level, is set to undergo a medical at Bramall Lane today.
After being limited to five appearances for Villa during the first-half of the previous campaign, Hourihane was loaned out to Swansea City earlier this year.
During his spell in Wales, the midfielder delivered a number of impressive performances for the Jacks as he helped them reach the Championship play-off final.
Although he was unable to prevent Swansea from suffering defeat at Wembley Stadium to Brentford, Hourihane did produce seven direct goal contributions in 22 league appearances for the club.
GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...
This could turn out to be a fantastic bit of business by Jokanovic as Hourihane knows exactly what it takes to thrive in the Championship.
During the 145 appearances that he has made in this division, the midfielder has managed to provide 61 direct goal contributions.
Hourihane ranked in the top-five at Swansea last season in terms of key passes per game (0.9) and overall pass success rate (78.6%) as he recorded a respectable average WhoScored match rating of 6.76 in the second-tier.
Providing that he is able to build upon these particular statistics during the current campaign for the Blades, he could become a key player for the club.
If Jokanovic backs up this particular swoop by signing some more classy operators before the window shuts tomorrow, he may be able to bring a feel good factor back to Bramall Lane later this year.
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