KV Oostende coach Alexander Blessin has revealed he believes that Brexit ruined his chances of securing the Sheffield United job in the summer.
Blessin was among the names continually linked with the Sheffield United job in the summer when they were seeking a long-term replacement for Chris Wilder.
The Blades eventually settled on Slaviša Jokanović, who currently has them 14th in the Championship with five wins from his first 16 games.
Before his appointment, Blessin was regularly named among the options for the job and, at one point, appeared to be the favourite for the position.
It was reported those in charge at Sheffield United had been impressed by Blessin’s first season in charge at Oostende, whom he led to fifth in the table and just three points shy of Genk in fourth.
It later emerged that Brexit regulations had put his hopes of getting the job in jeopardy, with managers now needing to have worked for two consecutive years, or three of the last five, in a top league if they want to get a visa to work in English football.
An application for a visa was thus turned down, and Blessin has now admitted Brexit scuppered his chances of a move he was interested in.
“For me, it is important that somewhere I can do what I want to do,” he told Sport Magazine.
“At a number of clubs, that was not the case. I feel I can still make mistakes here without being punished for them.
“What’s the point of going to a club that has the ambition to play at the top, but where I’m immediately under fire after two defeats? If no club came along that I felt good about, I wouldn’t have to leave here.
“The only team that interested me was Sheffield United, because English football fascinates me. Without Brexit, there was a chance I would have made that move.”
