Owner Prince Abdullah makes a spending admission as Sheffield United prepare to unveil newest signings

Sheffield United will not tear up their tried-and-tested method of recruitment in the Premier League after Prince Abdullah, the club's owner, admitted today: "Spending money doesn't guarantee anything".
H.R.H Prince Abdullah bin Mosa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud listens as Chief Executive Stephen Bettis speaks at a press conference: Simon Bellis/SportimageH.R.H Prince Abdullah bin Mosa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud listens as Chief Executive Stephen Bettis speaks at a press conference: Simon Bellis/Sportimage
H.R.H Prince Abdullah bin Mosa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud listens as Chief Executive Stephen Bettis speaks at a press conference: Simon Bellis/Sportimage

The Saudi Prince, who revealed on Talksport today that United expect to sign two or three players before the end of the day, admitted that the Blades have spent close to £100m since they returned to the top-flight.

And, ahead of the Premier League season opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers next Monday, Prince Abdullah said: "When you're a Saudi prince everyone thinks you have a lot of money and you get it easy.

"But I'm a self-made man and made my money the hard way.

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"I want to invest in the club and make it better but I don't have an unlimited budget like Manchester City or PSG.

"But I'm proud of my record. I've always supported any manager we have had when it came to budgets.

"Spending money doesn't guarantee anything, many clubs have spent more than us and spending wisely is very important. You can lose a lot of money easily."

Under Abdullah's sole ownership, United repeatedly broke their own transfer record - which currently stands at £22m, paid to Genk for Sander Berge last January.

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United are close to unveiling Derby pair Jayden Bogle and Max Lowe as their latest signings, while Oli Burke could soon join them at Bramall Lane as part of a swap deal with Callum Robinson.

"We have a good core team of players," the Prince added.

"We have a good base. We want to be one of the permanent teams in the Premier League... we don't want to be one that stays for a few years and gets relegated. We have to do things carefully. Football is not an exact science."

United will kick off the season behind-closed-doors, but hope to have fans back inside Bramall Lane as soon as possible amidst the current Covid-19 restrictions.

"I'm excited for the new season," the Prince added.

"It'll be a challenging season but I'm very confident, in Chris and the team, that it can be a very good season for us as well."

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