Paul Heckingbottom reiterates Sheffield United transfer plan after pre-season return

Paul Heckingbottom has signalled his desire to make a breakthrough in the transfer market soon, after admitting pre-season is the ideal time to integrate new signings into the Sheffield United way of life. The Blades are yet to make their first signing since winning promotion last season but are hoping to make some progress soon, after some of their players returned for pre-season on Monday.

A skeleton squad of players reported back to Shirecliffe earlier this week, with some players including Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye being granted extra leave following their international duty with their respective countries and four senior players, including Billy Sharp and Enda Stevens, who is set to join Stoke City, being released this summer.

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With less than six weeks until the season-opener against Crystal Palace at Bramall Lane on August 12, some supporters are becoming concerned by the lack of transfer activity so far. A shortlist of targets has been drawn up by United’s recruitment staff and contact with some, including Tunisian international Anis Ben Slimane, has been initiated.

With a limited £20m budget at his disposal for permanent additions this summer, Heckingbottom has acknowledged that the bulk of his recruitment in that area will be done from abroad in a bid to find better value for money than the English market. The flipside to that approach is that new players will take time to become acclimatised, both to life at United and English football in general - a luxury that the Blades will not be afforded much of in the Premier League.

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That process can be accelerated by early business, allowing more chance for players to get to know their teammates and new environment, and discover what is expected of them from Heckingbottom and his coaching staff - which was extended yesterday after the appointment of former Cardiff City boss Mark Hudson as the club’s new defensive coach.

“It’s the time of year for that [integration], whether it’s new players or staff,” Heckingbottom said. “You want everyone to feel a part of it come that first game and when the whistle blows. So it’s a big part of what pre-season is. Yes, it’s about getting fit and trying to get the information across to new players and members of staff, so they can hit the ground running. But it’s also about integrating them and making them part of the team as well.

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“I don’t think we’ve got half the players back yet, we’ve had three different stages coming back because a lot of people have done different things during the summer as well. Come next Monday, the 10th, everyone will be back in and it’ll be good to see where we are. It’ll be about adding to that squad and getting to work for the first game against Palace.”

Heckingbottom is understood to have identified midfield and the left side of his defence as priority positions, with a new forward also on his wishlist. Benie Traore is one player of interest after a stunning start to the Swedish season with Hacken, with the 20-year-old fitting the transfer profile for the Blades this summer.

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Blades Accounts: £40m loans, £8k a day interest, £1.5m to United World