Sheffield United boss answers Tommy Doyle question amid transfer hope

Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom remains hopeful of making another breakthrough in the transfer market ahead of this weekend’s season opener against Crystal Palace, after once again refusing to rule out the possibility of Manchester City loanee Tommy Doyle returning to the Blades next season.

The Blades remain short in midfield after losing Sander Berge to rivals Burnley earlier this week, despite bringing in Vinicius Souza from Belgian second-tier side Lommel. Heckingbottom confirmed that Souza had been signed to play alongside Berge, rather than replace him, and may make his Premier League debut against Roy Hodgson’s side on Saturday afternoon.

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Doyle enjoyed a hugely successful loan spell at Bramall Lane last season, alongside City teammate James McAtee, to help the Blades into the Premier League and after winning the U21 European Championships with England, was granted an extended period of leave by City in pre-season.

United can make two domestic loan signings, but only one from one of their rivals at any one time. Doyle’s salary at the Etihad make a permanent deal difficult and so another loan makes his return the most likely route, with Heckingbottom asked the Doyle question ahead of this weekend’s opener against Palace.

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“He’s not our player but he’s someone I speak to and I’m in contact with,” Heckingbottom said. “There’s always a chance.”

Asked if he hopes to make another signing before the weekend, Heckingbottom added: “I hope it’s close, yeah. I hope it is. We want more players, we need more players. My job is to push and push to get the players in to make us stronger. We can’t hide away from that fact.

“The players have been great, you can see we’re light on bodies but the players that have gone they’ve gone. There’s been quite a lot of negativity from speaking to people but it’s pointless and what we do now will define the season.

“That’s the message when I speak to Prince Abdullah and the board. Forget the politics of he said this and she said that, forget that. It’s about the signings we make and how strong we can be for what will be a tough season.”