Sheffield United 4 Reading 0: Managers' reaction as Blades go back top of the table

A good deal for lots of reasons. We really like him as a player, we think he’s got a good gift to score goals and credit to the academy staff for getting him in last year. For us to get a deal above £2.5m is fantastic business for a 17-year-old who could leave us next summer, for all intents and purposes. When you get certain clubs, right or wrong, making contact with the player and their dad it becomes difficult. We had to make sure the deal is right.

He’s a scholar. There’s a pro’ there for him but he doesn’t have to sign him. Look at Brentford and Spurs, we were never going to offer the most money. We can offer the pathway. If it happens, it goes through, we wish him well. We love the kid. Everyone deserves a big pat on the back for getting him hear, identifying him and getting him through the door because he could have gone elsewhere for more money or better facilities but he wouldn’t have got better coaching elsewhere.

Once you’re a scholar you’re out of that matrix. They can just come and take them for however many a year. Once you sign a scholar, it becomes more like a transfer or a tribunal.

If the lad wants to go he could go next summer. We could try and pursuade him but are we going to offer more money than Spurs? No. We can offer him that pathway but it’s one of those things.

Possibly [let go]. Who knows how frantic and stupid it might get, so I need to make sure we’ve got the players we want left.

Yeah, he looked good. Glad to have him at that level, he was desparate to come here and he saw the intensity and the quality and he got injured, so he missed all the pre-season games. To get him up to speed he played some U21s games, we brought him on in a couple and he’s had to be patient to get there and he can be pleased with that start.

We have got things we can do to change the game slightly but today it was about looking after George and Tommy, and we have the option of resting George for Bash now if we want to.

I enjoy a tenser, edgier game from a personal point of view but in terms of players and how proud you can be, that’s the type of performance you want.

He’s good enough to be a top, top player. He’s the one I might be harshest on but I know what he can do, and you can see it.

He won’t be shooting from outside the box again! He’s a threat going forward, we didn’t sign him for his goals but his finish from the corner was top. That was a bonus. We knew what we were getting, definitely.

Every player gets the same love, it’s like your kids isn’t it? You want the best for them but you’re not always nice with them. He had such bad luck last season but you’re seeing the benefits now, over the months and him seeing how good he can be and how many goals he can score.

I’m happy with Oli’s goal. Getting across the defender shows the hunger and the goalscorer in him but the quality of the goal was really good and really put us on the front foot.

We tried to treat this as just another game. We looked quiet, we looked tired and lethargic. But we never gave up, we don’t give up and you have to take the rough with the smooth. We’ll go again on Sunday now.