Sheffield United's relegation rivals issue early transfer window stance as Blades make moves

While Sheffield United have already been linked with moves for players in a bid to raise hopes of Premier League survival, one of their relegation rivals is expecting this transfer window to be 'quiet'.

The Blades have to hurdle Burnley and Luton Town before they can think about catching anyone else but the next team to pull in are Everton who sit just above the bottom three, thanks to their 10-point deduction by the Premier League early in the campaign.

A boost in form arrived soon after those points were taken away and it was expected that the Toffees would rise further out of the mire having pulled themselves away from the bottom of the table. However, a run through November and into mid-December which reaped five wins from seven matches has since turned and Sean Dyche's side have lost their last three - albeit against Tottenham, Man City and in-form Wolves - placing them just a point ahead of third-bottom Luton who have a game in hand.

Off the pitch, Everton are the sbject of a long drawn-out takeover bid, and they have appealed the decision to deduct those 10 points, which is likely to be the reasoning why expectations are from Dyche that the squad won't be vastly strengthened before the window closes at the end of the month.

Speaking ahead of Everton's FA Cup tie with Crystal Palace on Thursday night, Dyce said: 'To do any deal, there has to be finance. The club has to be in situation to do the deal. Kev [Thelwell, Everton's Director of Football] had to work very hard to construct deals in the summer. We managed to rebalance the squad the best we could but we had to lose some players as well.

"The situation is similar but different. You never know with the twists and turns of football how deals present themselves but at the moment it’s very likely to be quiet."

United are expected to add former Blackburn striker Ben Brereton Diaz to their squad as the first signing of the window, while the Blades have also been linked with Sunderland's Jack Clarke. Going the other way, Benie Traore looks likely to be heading to Nantes, while Luke Thomas could have his loan from Leicester City cut short as Chris Wilder looks to find room for more fresh faces.