Sheffield United refuse to drop their interest in Championship duo despite facing fierce resistance

Chris Wilder, the United manager, is pressing ahead with plans to bolster his squad ahead of the new Premier League season after bringing goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale and Wes Foderingham to Bramall Lane.

Swift, the Reading midfielder, and Cash, regarded as one of the country’s most promising defenders after impressing for Nottingham Forest, are known to feature on United’s wanted list.

Although officials at the Madejski Stadium and the City Ground have yet to accept their bids for the pair, Wilder’s transfer negotiators remain convinced they can break the impasse because both players want to work at the highest level.

Dai Yongge, the Reading owner, is adamant that Swift, previously of Chelsea, is not for sale. But with Swift known to be keen on exploring the opportunity of moving to South Yorkshire, that is likely to simply be a negotiating position designed to inflate any potential fee.

Forest have adopted a softer stance, but are thought to be insisting that United’s Luke Freeman travels in the opposite direction. With Wilder expressing the importance of strengthening the number of options at his disposal because of the condensed fixture schedule - United are not set to start the 2020/21 campaign until September 14 - and given the continued uncertainty about John Lundstram’s future, Wilder would prefer to draft in reinforcements before considering any approaches for the two midfielders.

An important message: Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues. The Star is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions for unlimited access to Sheffield news and information online. Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.