ANEL'S SWITCH PAYS OFF IN STYLE

SHEFFIELD UNITED SEAL RETURN TO THE PREM

- Chris Dunlavy

ANEL Ahmedhodzic will forever be remembered as the man whose goal sealed Sheffield United’s promotion back to the Premier League.

Yet if it hadn’t been for the collapse of a French grandee, a dramatic change of heart and the bloody-minded persistence of Paul Heckingbottom, the 24-year-old wouldn’t have been at Bramall Lane at all.

Born in Sweden to Bosnian parents, Ahmedhodzic was playing for Malmo in the Allsvenskan when Heckingbottom first picked up the phone in January last year. Did he fancy relocating to the Steel City?

No, came the answer. Plagued by memories of homesickness during a teenage spell with Nottingham Forest, the defender politely declined and instead joined Bordeaux on a conditional loan.

Had Bordeaux survived relegation from Ligue 1 last season, an obligatory 4.5m euro fee would have been payable to make the transfer permanent. They failed, a 0-0 draw against Lorient in early May condemning the six-times champions to the drop.

For United, that fateful stalemate was a sliding doors moment of arguably greater significance than keeping Sander Berge, the Norwegian midfielder who was so convinced he’d be leaving last summer that he packed his bags and moved into a hotel.

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Because on Wednesday night, Ahmedhodzic wasn’t in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Persuaded into a rethink by Heckingbottom before making a £3m summer switch, he was in the six-yard box at Bramall Lane, expertly glancing Sam Baldock’s miscued shot high into West Brom’s net.

Already ahead through Berge’s 58th-minute tap-in, the goal clinched a 2-0 victory that gave the Blades an unassailable seven-point lead over Luton and ensured Premier League football will return to the Lane after a two-year absence.