Sheffield United expect Manchester United will let Dean Henderson stay at Bramall Lane

Confirming Sheffield United also want to retain the services of Panos Retsos, Mo Besic and Richairo Zivkovic beyond the end of the month - when their temporary agreements are scheduled to expire - Wilder explained Henderson has outlined his desire to stay put during talks with Old Trafford’s hierarchy.

As The Star reported when the campaign was postponed in March because of the Covid-19 pandemic, United expect their top-flight rivals to honour the deal they brokered last summer - which saw Henderson rejoin Wilder’s side for another year after helping them win promotion from the Championship last term.

Although fears have been expressed that Manchester United could recall Henderson because his team have emerged as contenders for a European place, Wilder said: “We are very confident that Manchester United will let him (stay). There’s no point in asking Dean, because everyone knows what he wants to do.

“If he goes back, he can’t play. I respect he is Manchester United’s player and whatever decision they will make. But Dean wants to finish what has been an outstanding season for him and us here.”

With teams only returning to small scale training this week, the 2019/20 fixture programme is not expected to restart for around another four weeks. United were seventh - only two points behind Henderson’s parent club in fifth - when the shutdown was announced.

On Retsos, Besic and Zivkovic - on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, Everton and Changchun Yatai respectively - Wilder, the United manager, added: “From a contractual point of view, we are looking to extend all the loans and that includes Panos, Mo and others.

“There’s a couple of contracts that we’ve got that are set to expire and we’re looking to extend those.

“I’ve asked the question to all the players individually. Well, there’s one more I need to speak to. But they’ve all shown enormous enthusiasm to extend and stay here.”

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