Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder issues transfer warning

Despite acknowledging coaching staff at Bramall Lane are continuing to assess potential targets ahead of the next transfer window, Wilder admitted the precarious economic climate means his strategy must be flexible and cover a variety of outcomes.

With clubs across England asking players to accept wage cuts or deferrals, as those at United did earlier this week, experts have predicted the global transfer market will face considerable downward pressure when the pandemic begins to ease.

Confusion about when the present season will end - the fixture calendar was suspended indefinitely earlier this month - has complicated the situation still further, prompting Wilder to admit: “Potential targets are fluid because, from a financial perspective, things might change.”

Wilder, who together with United’s chief executive Steve Bettis has also agreed to defer a percentage of his salary for the remainder of the year, added: “There’s still video analysis going on and we can still do things."

As The Star revealed last month, researchers at CIES, one of football’s leading academic bodies, predict United will be the Premier League club most affected by falling squad values if, as seems certain, no more games take place until June. Those findings assumed no new contracts would be awarded until competition resumes, with Olympique de Marseille the European side facing the biggest drop in the value of their squad.