Sheffield United owner's transfer pledge after admitting some Blades stars have key clauses in contracts

United are 14 points adrift of fourth-bottom Newcastle United with only nine games of the season remaining, and are staring a return to the Championship in the face.

Paul Heckingbottom, United’s U23 coach, will oversee those nine games after stepping up to interim manager following Chris Wilder’s recent departure. Prince Abdullah says United will make a decision on Wilder’s successor “soon”.

“Our first priority is to get back to the Premier League. All options are open," he said.

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"We will make a decision soon but we want to see how the team performs for the last eight or nine games of the season.

"We want a coach who will be involved in recruitment but it will not be total. We have to learn from the mistakes we made before.

“We have to see how our coach does with the team and mathematically we’re still in it. I know 99 per cent we are relegated but maybe if he wins the nine remaining games I’ll give him a 100-year contract!

“Some of the players have a clause in their contract that they can leave if we get a certain offer, we can do nothing about that. Our first purpose is to get back to the Premier League and I think we have great advantage. Watford and Norwich are leading the Championship and Bournemouth aren’t far away.

'We needed players for now' - What Prince Abdullah said about Sheffield United's recruitment under Chris Wilder, including Rhian Brewster from Liverpool

“If we keep the core team, if we sell players we’ll bring players in. Our intention is to keep the core team and get back in the Premier League because staying in the Championship will not make us any money and is not the right place for a club as big as Sheffield United.”

Players such as Sander Berge – who has been linked with Liverpool, amongst others - are expected to be in high demand in the summer, while others including Jack O’Connell and John Egan may also attract interest from top-flight clubs.

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