Paul Heckingbottom’s Sheffield United transfer admission as takeover excitement builds

Paul Heckingbottom and his Sheffield United colleagues are not waiting for developments in the ongoing takeover saga before pressing ahead with their Premier League recruitment push, despite two parties interested in taking over the Blades indicating that they would be willing to meet Prince Abdullah’s valuation of the Blades.

The current owner has made no secret of his desire to sell the Blades, with reports overseas also suggesting that offers for United’s sister club Beerschot have also been encouraged. Another member of the United World stable of clubs, French side Châteauroux, are in financial crisis after being demoted by France’s National Directorate of Control and Management and face the loss of their professional status - and, as a result, their renowned training centre.

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Despite the Saudi royal’s public admission that the Blades are available, and two of the three interested parties, as The Star revealed today, indicating they would be happy to pay the £140m+ that he is searching, it is understood that no deal is particularly close, despite expressions of interest from a number of parties, and United’s Premier League status.

After a couple of false dawns, including failed bids by Henry Mauriss and Dozy Mmobuosi, news that a couple of parties haven’t been put off by United’s asking price has raised hopes amongst the fanbase that a takeover may soon be on the cards again. Any interested party would have to satisfy the Premier League’s stringent owners’ and directors’ tests before being given the keys to Bramall Lane and as far as Heckingbottom and Co. are concerned it is business as usual, as they look to make the most of their limited budget for permanent signings and continue to scour the globe for loan and free transfer signings that can bolster their crop of players.

Currently working with a budget of around £20m for permanent acquisitions this summer, Heckingbottom is aware that that amount placed at his disposal could change if the owner’s search for new ownership, or fresh investment, proves successful. But he is also aware that, with just over six weeks until the season opener at home to Crystal Palace, that United can ill-afford to stand still and hope that a new benefactor tops up the transfer kitty.

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“Imagine if we waited and waited and hoped that someone buys the club and then that didn’t happen?” Heckingbottom said recently. “We’re going to work within the finances we have been given, until something changes. We’d be foolish not to do that.

“Everyone is excited about the players we are looking at and the league we’re going into. Everything else, away from that, is nothing to do with me, with us or with the players. So we’ll just focus on our work, what we can control, until we are told anything different.”

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