Sheffield United invite Panos Retsos and Richairo Zizkovic to stay at Bramall Lane despite deals running into difficulty

Retsos and Zivkovic arrived in South Yorkshire on loan in January, with Wilder later revealing their parent clubs had inserted buy-out fees - enabling United to purchase both for a predetermined sum - into the agreements.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc with English football’s economy, the players have been informed it no longer makes financial sense for United to exercise that right - although Wilder has invited them to remain at Bramall Lane until the fixture schedule is completed.

Neither Retsos, the Bayer Leverkusen defender, nor Zivkovic, a former Holland youth international now of Changchun Yatai, featured in the squad which returned to action following a three month break at Aston Villa on Wednesday evening.

The match, the first to be staged in England since competition was suspended in March because of the nationwide health crisis, finished in a controversial stalemate when a technological error meant the officials failed to spot Oliver Norwood’s free-kick had been carried over the line by Villa’s Orjan Nyland.

With the system’s manufacturers later admitting the positioning of Nyland, a defender and their proximity to a goalpost had contributed to an unprecedented “level of occlusion”, one leading sports lawyer has claimed United could be entitled to take legal action if they mistake costs them a place in Europe next term.

They finished the contest in sixth - four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who occupy the final Champions League qualification berth.

United, who return to action at Newcastle on Sunday, were also without the injured Jack O’Connell and John Fleck in the West Midlands, but hope the latter could be fit for the visit to St James’ Park.

The situation surrounding Retsos, capped five times by Greece, and Zivkovic, who has yet to make his debut for United, underlines why Wilder is keen to tie existing members of his squad down to long-term contracts.

Captain Billy Sharp, Oliver Norwood and David McGoldrick all put pen to paper on new deals before the meeting with Villa, while talks with John Egan, Chris Basham and John Lundstram are continuing behind the scenes, after the trip were also invited to open negotiations.

Speaking towards the end of last month, Wilder told reporters that the losses accrued by top-flight sides during lockdown meant he could be forced to redraft his plans for the next transfer window.

In tandem with United’s head of recruitment Paul Mitchell and assistant manager Alan Knill, Wilder is already thought to have identified several potential targets but warned some of those could prove unobtainable unless market conditions improve.

United have also approached Manchester United about the possibility of re-signing goalkeeper Dean Henderson on loan next season, after officials at Old Trafford extended his temporary arrangement until August.

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