Sheffield United’s decision on Djibril Soumaré looked relatively straightforward when the midfielder arrived from Braga last summer. The structure of the deal did most of the thinking for them.

Promotion to the Premier League would trigger an €8.5m (£7.4m) obligation. Stay in the Championship, and the situation would need to be reassessed.

With the season now entering its final stretch, that second scenario is the one in play.

Sheffield United sit 17th in the table, 13 points adrift of the playoff places with seven matches remaining. So of course that gap makes a late push highly unlikely. 

As a result, what once looked like a clear pathway to a permanent transfer is now far less certain.

Promotion clause now fading out of reach

Portuguese onewspaper Record report that Braga are already factoring in the likelihood of missing out on a combined €13.5m (£11.7m) from two loan situations, with Soumaré’s case tied directly to Sheffield United’s league position.

The Portuguese newspaper explains that the Senegal international would have been bought automatically if promotion had been secured. However, with that objective slipping away, the clause is now described as something that “does not go beyond just a mirage”.

That wording...