Sheffield United: Blades become latest club to 'set up loan facility' from Australian bank Macquarie, secured against Premier League payments

Kieran Maguire, a lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool, shared details of the transaction on Twitter this afternoon and documents detailing the full charge were lodged with Companies House.

The Macquarie deal effectively means that United will receive an unspecified amount of cash upfront, secured against their payments from the Premier League until November 2020.

This route is increasingly becoming common practice for clubs, as well as the avenue of effectively ‘selling’ future transfer payments to investment banks in exchange for up-front cash.

AFC Bournemouth, United’s Premier League rivals, did a similar deal with Macquarie – a bank nicknamed the “Vampire Kangaroo” because of its ruthless focus on profits – earlier this season, with the money owed to them for Tyrone Mings and, ironically, Blades striker Lys Mousset.

Maguire said: “We are seeing this more and more where clubs are looking for cash immediately, but of course it costs them a premium to do so.”

Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace have also entered into similar arrangements with Macquarie recently.