Sheffield United: Seventy thousand pound a week statement issued as transfer search cranks up
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Encouraged by Morgan Gibbs-White’s performances after leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season long basis 10 months ago, the United manager is planning at least two similar moves ahead of the new campaign.
Together with recruitment experts Paul Mitchell and Jared Dublin, Heckingbottom is expected to begin his search at some of the country’s highest profile clubs having been informed the resources will be placed at his disposal to attract some of England’s finest up-and-coming talent.
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"To put it bluntly, the loan market means we can sign a player on £70,000 a week from a Premier League club because of where the numbers are, so we feel we can get a couple of really decent players from the Premier League,” Steve Bettis, United’s chief executive, said.
"It's also our reputation as well (that helps) - we've built relationships and players have been successful here so they don't mind them coming here.”
"It's probably the top half of the table we'd generally go to at the start because they've got such big squads and such quality still in their first 50 who can really excel at Championship level,” Bettis added.
Dean Henderson, now reportedly a target for Newcastle, also excelled at United after spending two years there on placement from Manchester United. Although he has failed to hold down a regular starting role since returning to the North-West, Henderson’s displays under Heckingbottom’s predecessor Chris Wilder enhanced his reputation to such an extent that Gareth Southgate drafted him into the international fold.
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Hide AdSpeaking before United’s defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off semi-finals, Heckingbottom said: “I think Morgan and Wolves will be delighted with how he’s done here. I think that sends a message about how we can help people like Morgan really develop their potential and bring them on. Ultimately, it’s down to the player to show the right attitude, which Morgan has done totally. But we can help them flourish too.”