Sheffield United boss pays tribute to departing key man Paul Mitchell after "major part" verdict

Chris Wilder has paid tribute to "major part" Paul Mitchell played during his time as head of recruitment at Sheffield United, after his departure was confirmed today. The Sheffield-born scout has left by mutual consent for unspecified personal reasons, with his contract set to expire in the summer anyway.

Mitchell was one of Wilder's first appointments after he took charge of his boyhood club back in 2016 and the two set about transforming United's recruitment, bringing in the likes of John Fleck, Mark Duffy and Jack O'Connell on free or bargain transfers that helped United go from League One to the Premier League within the space of three seasons.

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United are looking to reshape their recruitment department ahead of a key summer transfer window and Wilder paid tribute to his old pal ahead of this weekend's trip to Bournemouth. "I brought him into the football club as I did with a couple of the others, the likes of Jack [Lester] and Paul [Heckingbottom] previously," Wilder said.

"Listen, he's been a fabulous servant to the football club. He's been here a long time and played a major part in a lot of the good things that have happened in the last seven or eight years. I wish him all the best. I think people talk a lot about some of the major signings that we've made and we've changed our approach to the transfer market as we became a Premier League club.

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"Even now, you look at the likes of Gus and Vini and people like that, and the numbers we've paid for them. But when you look back, when we set the ball rolling and you see the service that those players gave, for the minimal amount that we paid, was great. And Paul was front and centre of that. So I thank him for his efforts."

Asked if this was perhaps not a bad time for a fresh start in recruitment, ahead of a key summer, Wilder admitted: "Yeah, maybe so. We'll have to refresh that department and improve it as well. It's getting more and more important. So in terms of building that department up, having a refresh and going again, the timing of that might be beneficial for all."