Paul Heckingbottom is far from happy with the current predicament Sheffield United find themselves in, and who can blame him? The Blades have decided to cash in on their two key assets just days before the opening Premier League game against Crystal Palace.
Firstly, Iliman Ndiaye was sold to his boyhood club Olympique Marseille for a fee rising to £20m. And now the club have decided to let Sander Berge leave following a £15m bid, rising to approximately £20m, and the Blades reportedly have a sell-on percentage for any future sale.
Heckingbottom was live on TalkSPORT this afternoon and he was full of frustration and anger because of Sheffield United’s situation. He exclaimed on national radio:
“I would’ve thought we’d be amongst the favourites. I would’ve thought, if people are watching us, as it stands we are the favourites. I’m watching other teams strengthen and I’m getting jealous. I want that to be us and so does everyone else connected to the club but it’s time for us to do it.”
Sheffield United are reportedly close to unveiling Vinícius Souza as their new player, meanwhile, they have had a bid rejected for Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone. They have also declared interest in Coventry City’s star player Gus Hamer. Additionally, Paul Heckingbottom is hoping to bring in Chuba Akpom from Middlesbrough.
With the Blades selling two players for between £30m-£40m, the club have a healthy budget to bring in several marquee signings, but they will need to act quickly before other teams snap them up.
Heckingbottom added:
“I can’t say I’m not concerned. You’d love to have all the players in who you want to work with and integrate them into the squad. The dynamic of our team, I’m unsure what it’s going to look like at the minute. We had a real clear way of playing and how we wanted to be with the ball, without the ball.
“Depending on who we bring in that could totally change. Even though we’re trying to recruit for how we want to play, the difficulties of bringing players in means that might not be possible. We’ve got to be flexible and open minded. It’s a concern but there’s nothing we can do about it other than prepare as well as we possibly can for the first game.”
