"If someone isn’t fine with it, then okay and bye bye" - Sheffield United confident temporary extensions won't be an issue

With the Premier League in lockdown since the beginning of last month and a definite return date proving impossible to schedule, there is an acceptance within the game that it will be impossible to complete this term’s remaining fixtures before June 30; when a raft of professionals are set to become free agents.

Although FIFA has granted permission for those deals to be extended, the world governing body concedes its directive is not enforceable by law, meaning managers and clubs are powerless to keep players against their will.

Despite conceding he has not held formal discussions with anyone at United approaching their end of their present contracts, Wilder said: “I don’t see it as a huge problem, if I’m being honest, and I’ll tell you why.

“Jags (Phil Jagielka) is one of those whose deal is going to be up then and I know now, if I talk to him within 20 minutes of doing this interview and ask him if he’ll stay on for another month or whatever, then he’ll say ‘yes’ without even thinking about it.

“That’s the point of bringing good people to a football club and wanting to work with good people.”

Wilder, speaking during a video teleconference with journalists, added: “We don’t have many in that situation and I’m sure they’ll all be fine with it.

“If someone isn’t fine with it, then okay and bye bye. They can go on their way. Usually I’d drive them to where they want to go but obviously I can’t at the moment so they’ll have to find a way of getting there themselves.

“If someone wants to do that, then they won’t be a part of it going forward. But, like I say, I don’t think that’s going to be the case here.”

United were seventh in the table - only five points outside the Champions League places - when the season was mothballed because of the worsening health situation.

Earlier this week it was announced that Wilder, together with United’s senior coaching staff, had agreed to defer a percentage of their wages and bonuses for the remainder of the year. The club’s players followed suit on Tuesday, after also being approached by United’s board of directors.

"We aren't individuals," Wilder said. "We're a group. We got asked by the club and we all wanted to help. It's the least we could do.

"It's been a long journey, a hell of a journey to get to where we are now and we want to establish ourselves as a Premier League club.

"We can't do it the way some other clubs have done that so we have to do it our way and we have to be together."

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