Sheffield United: Upgrades are necessary to plug the talent drain, following Manchester City swoop

Three members of the England squad which meets France in the World Cup quarter-finals tonight launched their careers at Bramall Lane while Iliman Ndiaye, a member of the Senegal side they beat in the round of 16, also enrolled on their development programme before making his debut for the club.

Despite seeing new Manchester City team mate Kyle Walker learn his trade with United, youngster Kylan Midwood recently elected to swap the Randox Health Academy for the Etihad Stadium after being approached by the Premier League champions. The Elite Player Performance Programme, introduced at the behest of top-flight clubs, meant United’s negotiating power was limited because they do not possess the same grading as City’s academy.

Acknowledging that United’s desire to become a self-sustainable club means the likes of Midwood must be better protected moving forward, Heckingbottom said: “It highlights that we’re a long way from where we want to be. We want to be a team that develops out own and make money. You have to get them in the first team to do that. In my opinion, I don’t think it would have taken him (Midwood) so many years and that has to be our aim.”

Although some commentators have attempted to make light of the situation, insisting Midwood’s departure highlights the talent United possess at age-group level, Heckingbottom views it as the continuation of a worrying trend. Earlier this season, Will Lankshear swapped South Yorkshire for Tottenham Hotspur while others have been lured away.

With United needing to identify and then construct a new training site in order to achieve category one status, and then commit substantial funding towards maintaining coaching standards, Heckingbottom is unlikely to see his wish granted anytime soon. The fact a new first team training pitch is still not fully operational, around five months after it was supposed to open, highlights the pressure being placed upon budgets behind the scenes. Contract negotiations with Ndiaye, who has returned to England from the Middle East ahead of tomorrow’s game against Huddersfield Town, are also thought to have stalled of late amid fears his agent has no intention of quickly agreeing an extension.

"We've lost players from lower age groups to ‘Cat One’ clubs for minimal amounts and that's what we have to try and avoid,” Heckingbottom, who side are second in the table, said. "If we've lost 4 or 5 in the last 18 months that's 4 or 5 of our best chances. We're not going to be where we want to be.

"The EPPP gives the Premier League all the power so they have a lot of say on the compensation and how it's structured. If people are ready to take the PL's money you're almost bound to do what they say.”

"We'll get a substantial fee,” Heckingbottom added, referring to Midwood. “Because he's been a scholar, we’ll not go into much detail.There'll be future fees (Sell-ons) that can be achieved.”