Sheffield United: Blades set for sell-on windfall if Birmingham City’s Che Adams moves to Premier League with Southampton and Burnley interested

United inserted a sell-on clause into the deal which saw striker Adams join Birmingham City in August 2016, for a fee in the region of £2m.

Adams has scored 14 goals for the Blues this season and has attracted reported interest from top-flight clubs Southampton and Burnley, who could make their move before the transfer window slams shut on Thursday.

National newspaper reports suggest the Blues have turned down an £8m bid for Adams, and boss Garry Monk would be unable to bring in a replacement this window after bringing in the five players the club were permitted to sign by the EFL.

Although the exact details of the sell-on clause remain unknown, club sources have confirmed that one exists and could give United a late financial boost ahead of the deadline.

Adams was signed by Wilder’s predecessor, Nigel Clough, from non-league Ilkeston Town and memorably scored two goals after coming off the bench against Tottenham in the semi-final of the League Cup at Bramall Lane.

Wilder allowed Adams to join City after failing to receive assurances that he wanted to remain at United.

“He [Adams] wanted to go,” Wilder said last season. “It was the same with Dom [Calvert-Lewin] who went to Everton. I didn’t want people who didn’t want to be here. I was new in and I had to put a marker down. There was no big falling out.

“He worked okay for the short period he was here. I suppose he’s looking at it thinking they were in that division and we were in League One. He’s got no affiliation to Sheffield United has he?

“It’s not like he’s been here since he was 10 and come all the way through the ranks. He’s a footballer who wanted it to happen, his agent wanted it to happen and they wanted to take him.

“He made that perfectly clear so we tried to do as much as we could without getting our pants pulled down.”