Sheffield United are keen to extend the loan deal of Fulham defender Toni Kallio according to manager Kevin Blackwell.

The 31-year old Finland internationals stint with the Blades ends before Boxing Day but the club want to come to a new agreement with Fulham to have him remain at Bramall Lane for a while longer.

"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."

However, Blackwell would understand if Fulham did not want to allow Kallio to remain with Sheffield.

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."