Chris Wilder sheds more light on Sheffield United's transfer strategy and plans

Acknowledging he has compiled a list of potential acquisitions covering certain key positions, the 52-year-old warned football’s harsh economic climate could force him to pursue alternative targets unless football resumes shortly.

Teams in England’s top-flight have been warned they face combined losses of around £1bn if, as some experts believe, next season is also played behind closed doors. There is already a consensus within the game that this term’s remaining 92 matches will be staged inside empty stadiums should the Government grant permission for the PL to lift the fixture suspension it imposed because of Covid-19 two months ago.

“We’re always looking at different situations,” Wilder, the United manager, said. “For us, it’s position specific.

“The majority of players (at Bramall Lane) are under contract and we got deep into (contract negotiations) with some before all of this, so everyone knows their futures are here.

“We look at where we need to improve and, as always, there’s a list of ‘A’ players we think we can attract to others."

“There’s an enormous amount of work still going on and discussions taking place regarding players who can improve us.”

United were seventh in the table - only five points outside the Champions League qualification positions having played a game less than fourth-placed Chelsea - when all matches were postponed indefinitely.

With social distancing measures preventing members of his scouting department from assessing players in person, Wilder has explained how data analysis is becoming increasingly important behind the scenes at United.

Although he could be required to wheel and deal if the board are forced to revise his recruitment budget, Wilder said: We’ve been successful in every transfer window so far, I believe. We’ve been able to really lift the standard of player that we’ve brought in.”

Having broken their transfer record on numerous occasions following last term’s promotion from the Championship, United set a new benchmark again when Norway's Sander Berge completed a £22m move from Genk in January.

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