Sheffield United boss’s pre-season verdict and frustration as he repeats transfer wish

Heckingbottom admits he expected this summer window to be a “really tough one” as United prepared for life in the Premier League, with an incredibly modest transfer budget and strict wage structure. He has so far brought in four new faces and hopes to sign another before Saturday’s season opener against Crystal Palace at Bramall Lane.

United brought the curtain down on their preparations with a 3-0 defeat at home to Stuttgart yesterday. The Blades beat Chesterfield and Derby County, lost to Rotherham United and Girona and drew with Estoril over their warm-up campaign, with a week-long camp at the Portugal FA’s training base forming a large part of their preparation work.

Hecky’s Blades transfer wish ahead of Palace season opener

But there was frustration on the injury front, too. Oli McBurnie picked up an issue in Portugal that has threatened his involvement against Palace while Heckingbottom lost two midfielders in the space of less than 24 hours against Rotherham and Girona, in Ollie Norwood (head) and John Fleck (leg).

“The planning has been good,” Heckingbottom said in his pre-season verdict, “in terms of the lads’ fitness and minutes. We’ve picked up one or two injuries, which is disappointing, and I’d have loved the squad to be ready like we were last season, but that wasn’t my expectation.

“I expected this to be a really tough window for lots of reasons. And it’s panning out that way. I’m happy fitness-wise, yeah. Where we are numbers-wise, no. You can see we are way short, which is plain to see. There is so much work to do and an unfortunate thing for us is that the season is just a few days away. We’ve got to work really hard.”