Sheffield United Transfers: Fleetwood resigned to losing Blades-linked defender also interesting Leeds United and BARCELONA

Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom is understood to have placed Hill’s name on his list of transfer targets, despite privately acknowledging that the Blades would face a host of competition for the 19-year-old.

Premier League clubs Southampton and Leeds United have checked on Hill’s progress in recent weeks, while Fleetwood chairman Andy Pilley revealed recently that Barcelona dispatched scouts to watch the defender in action.

Hill is the son of former Blades defender Matt and United hope that the family connection – plus United’s, and Heckingbottom’s, reputation for developing young players – would tip the scales in their favour if they do firm up their interest this month.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Pilley admitted: “James is destined for the top. He turns 20 in January but he got his debut for us at 16, which tells you how much faith we’ve always had in him.

“All the Premier League clubs have been here to look at him and we even had Barcelona in attendance a few weeks ago.

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“We’ve been very lucky to have him but we know we’ll be saying goodbye to him soon and we’ll wish him all the best for the future.

“We’ll just have to watch him on Match of the Day. James joined us at 14 after he had been rejected by Blackpool and Bolton, which goes to show that you shouldn’t listen to what people think about you. He got a third chance with us and grabbed it.”

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