Sheffield United set for Luke Freeman decision as Paul Heckingbottom admits new faces will be arriving at Bramall Lane

After moving to the Midlands on loan last summer, Freeman has confirmed his season is now over because of a knee injury.

Forest inserted a clause entitling them to purchase the 29-year-old this summer into the deal which saw him leave Bramall Lane

Suggesting there has so far been little communication between the two clubs about Freeman’s future, Heckingbottom, United’s interim manager, said: “I don’t know if anything is happening with Luke.

“I’m not too sure, admittedly, about what the dates are and if they (Forest) have to decide by a certain time but that’s often the case.

“So although I’m not too sure what’s going on there, I will say we are expecting him back here.”

Freeman, signed by Queens Park Rangers following United’s promotion from the Championship in 2019, struggled for game time as Chris Wilder’s side went on to finish ninth in the table and was eventually allowed to leave on a temporary basis.

Fitness issues have plagued his spell with Chris Hughton’s side but, providing those are addressed, there is a school of thought that United would be wise to retain his services after being relegated back to the Championship ahead of tomorrow’s game against Crystal Palace.

“Luke isn’t back with us yet,” Heckingbottom continued. “We’ve got lots of players, especially younger ones, out on loan whose seasons are also coming to an end. That’s something we need to look at. We need to look at it for them and for us, so they are in the best place and be best prepared for the start of next season.

“That is their priority right now, because they aren’t available to us. And our priority is making sure they are next placed to do well when we report back towards the end of June.”

Having been without a permanent manager since Wilder’s departure in April, United will shortly decide if Heckingbottom is to be handed the role of leading them back to the top-flight or whether they should make an external appointment.

Acknowledging time is of the essence in order to plan an effective recruitment drive, Heckingbottom said: “I think there will be a tweak, rather than anything huge in terms of turnover.

“If you had an open budget, you’d be going out and looking at bringing in whoever you want and however many you want. We don’t have one of those, and so I think we’ll be looking at single figures and making the most out of this group - bringing back what made it successful before.

“They might not have always had the best individual players on the pitch butk, I tell you hat, they were always the best team on the pitch. And they enjoyed being that.”

“There will be fresh faces, there naturally always is,” he added. “Then they have to be ones who can come straight into your eleven, because otherwise all you are doing is reshaping the squad.”