Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder is delighted by his team's booming popularity in the east

But Sheffield United’s manager has been delighted to discover, as they prepare to return to action, that Bramall Lane’s first team squad is gaining a new army of supporters in places like Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

“It goes to show the profile of Premier League football, when you hear about stuff like that happening,” Wilder said. “I don’t know the reasons. But I’m really pleased to hear it. Because what these boys have done, they deserve all the backing they get.”

Although the global reach of English football’s most prestigious competition has undoubtedly been a factor - introducing Wilder’s squad, via its network of television deals, to a series of new audiences - it only tells part of the story. The speed of United’s climb through the divisions, and more importantly what has fuelled it, appears to capture the imagination of people in that part of the world.

One new follower, from the city of St Petersburg, told The Star how the bond between Wilder’s team and the terraces appealed to his own sense of community. An ex-pat now living in Kyiv provided his own take - insisting United’s ability to deliver success on a budget provided hope to those whose own clubs compete in divisions which, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, have become monopolies or duopolies.

News that two veterans of last season’s promotion winning squad - Oliver Norwood and captain Billy Sharp - have agreed fresh contracts is likely to consolidate United’s position as the overseas club of choice for many in Eurasia. A lifelong fan himself, Sharp also helped United claw their way out of the third tier following Wilder’s appointment in 2016.

“Obviously we’ve got connections in that part of the world with Petr Katchuro, from Belarus, playing for us,” Wilder said. “But it’s brilliant to hear the lads are getting recognition for what they’re doing and who knows, one day we might end up heading over there to play.”

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