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Sheffield United have completed the signing of Irish teenager Sam Curtis to signal long-term planning continues.
In addition to a number of younger homegrown players committing to long-term contracts recently, the Blades have brought in the 18-year-old defender on a contract until summer 2027 following the expiry of his association with St Patrick’s Athletic in the League of Ireland.
Chris Wilder commented, “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.”
Curtis, meanwhile, added, “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 love 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.”
“The thing which has impressed me so far is how I have been welcomed with open arms. Coming in, all the players straightaway introduced themselves to me, which is really helpful coming from a different country, so that was a big thing for me.”
Born in Navan, County Meath, Curtis made his name with some top local sides as a schoolboy before signing for Shamrock Rovers, where he played at reserve level. He switched to fellow League of Ireland side St. Patrick’s Athletic, making his senior debut in August 2021, then becoming the club’s youngest ever player at 15 years and 255 days old.
He signed his first professional contract in January 2022, and made 20 first team appearances in his breakthrough campaign. In 2023 he further established himself, making 39 appearances in all competitions which saw him earn a place in Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland Team of the Year. He also picked up the PFAI Young Player of the Year prize – the youngest ever player to win the award. In the same year, Curtis also helped the Saints win the FAI Cup after a 3-1 win over Bohemians.
He has represented Republic of Ireland at U-15 through to U-21 level.
