Key Sheffield United man drops contract hint as he makes big career claim

The 31-year-old has been a key part of United’s promotion charge this season, playing every game to help Paul Heckingbottom’s side to second in the Championship standings.

The Blades travel to QPR on Monday evening well clear of third-placed Blackburn Rovers and looking good in their pursuit of a return to the Premier League, following a painful relegation back in 2021.

“I said earlier in the season, I'm loving football,” the former Northern Ireland international admitted. “It's going well but this league is demanding and tough, every team throws up a different challenge.

“I personally feel I'm playing the best football of my career. I'm really enjoying it, and long may that continue.”

Norwood is one of many Blades stars facing an uncertain future, with their contracts set to expire in the summer. Although United are thought to have options in their favour to keep some at Bramall Lane for a further year, the slow pace of contract negotiations has not been helped by uncertainty over future ownership of the football club.

Prince Abdullah recently accepted an offer from an as-yet unnamed party for control of the Blades, with the EFL currently going through their checks to ensure the prospective new owner is suitable. A number of Norwood’s teammates are also in limbo, while Billy Sharp and Ben Osborn must be offered new terms if they are to remain after seeing their one-year extensions triggered last summer.

Told in the pre-QPR press conference that he seems to be getting better and better with age, Norwood – who recently celebrated his 450th league game and 500th overall of his career – replied: “You probably need to tell the club that!

“I'm loving football, you can always learn and I think I'm still learning off Hecky, Jack [Lester] and especially Stuart [McCall]. With the career he had in midfield I'm still learning and there's plenty more to come I think, hopefully many more years. But we'll see where we end up.”