SHEFFIELD United are in the race to sign Saints midfielder Andrew Surman, the Daily Echo understands.

As exclusively revealed earlier this week, Saints have received an offer for the midfielder from an unnamed club.

The amount is not known, although Saints could expect to command a reasonable fee for the highly-rated former England Under-21 international, pictured.

The Blades are understood to be very keen on securing the services of Surman, right.

It is not known how formal their interest has become, although they are thought to have made an approach of some kind.

Head coach Mark Wotte would not comment on Surman’s situation yesterday.

Wotte’s own future if the Pinnacle group are successful in their takeover is also uncertain.

Both parties were remaining tight lipped after their meeting on Wednesday.

Surman finished last season as the club’s second top scorer, with seven goals to his name.

He spent most of the campaign on the left side of midfield, but also filled in at left-back on occasions.

After Saints’ last game of the season at Nottingham Forest, he declared he would like to stay at the club, but did not know what the future held this summer.

Surman has attracted interest from a host of clubs over the last few years.

Reading have been linked on a number of occasions with a move for him.

They were understood to have been close to making an official bid last summer.

However, the collapse of James Harper’s proposed move from the Royals to Middlesbrough put an end to the interest.

They were again strongly rumoured to be set to put in a formal offer last January, but one never materialised.

Premier League side Fulham have been linked with Surman before, while Cardiff City are the latest side to have been mentioned.

A report in the national press yesterday said they were preparing a £1m bid.

Any offer would need to be run past the Pinnacle group, who are working to complete a takeover of the club in their period of exclusivity.

A sale of any player could alter the price of the club slightly, so Pinnacle will be consulted on any deals.

Meanwhile, Grzegorz Rasiak looks unlikely to complete a permanent move to Watford, where he spent last season on loan.

Brendan Rodgers, an admirer of Rasiak, admitted this week that the Polish striker’s wage demands were too high.

The Hornets seem even less likely to continue their interest now, after boss Rodgers joined Reading to replace Steve Coppell as manager yesterday.