Sheffield United Transfers: Paul Heckingbottom's wish over futures of Wolves' Morgan Gibbs-White and Liverpool's Ben Davies

Speculation has raged over whether the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Ben Davies will return to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool respectively, with the forward’s displays impressing Molineux boss Bruno Lage and West Ham reported to be keeping tabs on the progress of Davies.

Both players may not feature for United against Preston North End on Boxing Day. Davies, the former Deepdale defender, missed United’s win at Fulham on Monday with personal reasons, while Gibbs-White was forced off at half-time with a knee issue.

Boss sends a warning to his United side after Fulham victory

And when asked if he is worried about the future of his loan stars, Heckingbottom admitted: “Of course, yes. But we want to keep them. We think we are a good place for loan players to come and be in a good group, get game time and push and hopefully climb the league.

“A lot of it is out of our control but we are happy with them, they are happy with the club so hopefully we can keep that going forward. It's always about playing, because players want to play. If it's down to the player, then players want to play.

“If I am a young player who has gone out on loan and I've gone out on loan to play games, and my team's going to want to bring me back as a back-up just in case, I'm going to have something to say about that. Players' feelings will be considered, no doubt about that.

Why Robinson deserves a great deal amount of credit after coming in from cold

“We're the club that has no say in it. It's up to the player and the parent club. All we can do is provide that environment and make sure it's a decision that goes our way.”

Robin Olsen, the goalkeeper on an expensive loan deal from AS Roma, has not featured for the Blades since early November after being injured on international duty but Conor Hourihane, the Aston Villa midfielder who worked with Heckingbottom at Barnsley, is expected to see out the season at Bramall Lane.

While you're here, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details HERE. Your support is much appreciated. Chris Holt, Football Editor