Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell is hoping to agree a deal with Fulham to extend the loan of Toni Kallio.
The defender’s current spell at Bramall Lane is due to expire before the Boxing Day clash at Leicester, but Blackwell is keen to keep the Finland international.
Kallio has made two Championship appearances so far for the Blades and his performance against QPR at the weekend impressed Blackwell.
“We are currently speaking to (Fulham boss) Roy Hodgson about extending the deal because we cannot take out a new one in the New Year,” Blackwell told the club’s official website.
“Toni has had a stop-start period with us – through no fault of his own – but he came back into the side at QPR and did really well for us.”
But Blackwell accepts he could face a tough battle on his hands to secure the deal.
He added: “With Fulham having qualified for the Europa League knockout stages and the FA Cup starting shortly, it might mean that Roy wants to make sure that he has a larger squad available.”