Sheffield United warned they will be weaker if "irreplaceable" Iliman Ndiaye is sold

Having scored for the 15th time this season during the 4-1 victory over Preston North End, Ndiaye is expected to attract interest from some of Europe’s leading clubs as he enters the final year of his contract at Bramall Lane.

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But as United’s focus switches towards the forthcoming Premier League campaign - they made sure of promotion by beating West Bromwich Albion last week - Heckingbottom’s campaign to try and persuade the board not to cash in on the 23-year-old has now begun in earnest. With coaching staff apparently yet to learn how much money will be placed at their disposal in order to construct a squad capable of retaining top-flight status and Ndiaye about the enter the final year of his contract, Heckingbottom clearly fears United’s hierarchy could be tempted to consider bids for Ndiaye in order to alleviate some of the financial pressure which recently saw them placed under a transfer embargo.

Although he refused to say to explicitly, the former Barnsley, Leeds and Hibernian chief hinted that he would like to see Ndiaye offered a fresh terms which reflect his status and, diplomatically distancing himself from the notion that United should cash-in now rather than avoid losing their most valuable performer for nothing, pointedly reminded that his side will be weakened if the youngster departs.

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Acknowledging that he hopes the reception Ndiaye from the crowd persuades him to stay put, Heckingbottom told The Star: “I could say what we need to do and, obviously, I hope that acclaim means something. We're going onto a different stage. Iliman has 12 months left. It is a business decision, we have to be clear. But yes, football is what always sorts a business in the end. When we know what is happening, I'll tell you more."

“I am always going to tell you that this is the perfect platform for Iliman,” Heckingbottom continued. “He is irreplaceable and we have one or two like that. We have to know what we’ve got. We could lose three or four that are the type of players we just wouldn’t be able to afford if we had to try and buy them now. But we’ve already got them in the building, it’s important to remember that.”

Heckingbottom fought - and eventually won - a battle to retain both Ndiaye and Sander Berge during the January window, when both came closer to leaving than was admitted at the time. United owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who last week discovered that Nigerian entrepreneur Dozy Mmobuosi is pressing ahead with a takeover attempt which had appeared on the brink of collapse, recently stated that he will wait another month before deciding whether to offload his shareholding ahead of the club’s PL return. But speaking after the meeting with Preston, Heckingbottom stressed that is “too long” to wait before making key decisions.

“I want to be speaking with the players now,” he said. “In my eyes it is simple. We know where we stand now so let's work with that. If someone buys the club, then that increases our capability.”

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