Sheffield United look to cultivate and cement relationships with leading Premier League clubs
Despite establishing a close relationship with Manchester City last season, after signing Tommy Doyle and James McAtee on loan from the Premier League champions, Sheffield United aim to foster good connections with all of the country’s leading clubs in order to bolster their top-flight survival hopes.
Efforts to establish or cultivate existing contact at venues such as the Etihad Stadium, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, form part of Paul Heckingbottom’s drive to make Bramall Lane one of the ‘go to’ destinations for up-and-coming talent in need of an opportunity.
Given the constraints which have been placed upon his recruitment budget, as United’s hierarchy attempt to keep a tight grip on spending following promotion from the Championship, Heckingbottom views the loan market as an essential tool in his armoury - calculating that he can use it to acquire players, albeit often inexperienced ones, who would otherwise prove beyond reach.
Doyle and McAtee both excelled after moving to South Yorkshire on a temporary basis, with the latter since being informed he will be awarded a new contract as a result of his progress in United colours.
“I know they, the lads, and City are pleased with how things have gone,” Heckingbottom told The Star. “It’s something that has arguably benefited everybody and it just shows that we have got the right environment to not only give these players a chance of first team football earlier than they might have expected but also to improve them.”
“That’s what they (England’s biggest clubs) want to see when they send lads out,” Heckingbottom added. “Because that’s the purpose of the exercise. They want them to come back better than when they went out and for them to have a better understanding of what is required.”
United held regular meetings with City after acquiring Doyle and McAtee, with members of Pep Guardiola’s development department often travelling to witness them in action both at the Randox Health Academy and during games. Those get-togethers could persuade City to place more youngsters under the United umbrella, with the two sides understood to have worked closely on formulating a development strategy for the England under-21 internationals.