Adkins aims to keep on-loan pair

Although the players, on loan from Birmingham City and Derby County respectively, are scheduled to remain with Sheffield United until the end of the season, their agreements contain recall clauses which can be activated by their parent clubs next month.

The Star understands that representatives acting on behalf of Adkins’ employers made contact with officials at St Andrews and the iPro Stadium seeking reassurances those will not be triggered before Saturday’s victory over Scunthorpe.

Outlining his own plans for the January transfer window, Adkins said: “We’ll be sitting down and looking at everybody.

“We’ll be talking about what we’ll do and what we’d like to do with some of the people we’ve got out on loan.

“But the ones (loans) we’ve got, yes, we want to keep.”

With a squad containing over 40 professionals complicating both United’s Salary Cost Management Protocol obligations and Adkins’ efforts to make “consistent” selections during the second-half of the campaign, coaching staff are expected to allow more fringe players to depart on a temporary basis when English football reopens for business in 11 days time.

Doncaster Rovers want to retain Craig Alcock’s services after signing the United defender on a short-term loan earlier this term while the futures of Terry Kennedy (Cambridge United) and Marc McNulty (Portsmouth) are also set to be discussed. Adkins, though, is thought to have informed both they have long-term futures in South Yorkshire despite finding opportunities in short supply before being placed with the League Two clubs.

“We’ll have to trim the squad,” Adkins said. “Everybody is aware of that. But we’ll deal with the situation as best we can privately, quietly and in the proper manner behind the scenes.”

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