Sheffield United's squad handed key 'embargo order' ahead of FA Cup visit to Wrexham

Second in the Championship table and 13 points clear of third place, United enjoy a break from the challenge of trying to deliver promotion when they visit Wrexham in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

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Unbeaten in nine outings, with eight of those resulting in wins, Heckingbottom’s men are on course to return to the Premier League two years after being relegated from the top-flight. Convinced that advancing into the latter stages of the knockout competition will have a positive effect upon their bid to climb out of the second tier, the United manager said: “What’s happened can’t become a distraction. Nothing can distract us. I’ve told the lads that.”

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United were sanctioned by the EFL after failing to pay a debt owed to another club relating to a previous dealing in the transfer market. They have 30 days to find a solution, beginning when the measure was imposed, or face being banned from processing any new signings for another two windows.

Heckingbottom had hoped to use this one to draft-in a replacement for Reda Khadra, whose loan from Brighton and Hove Albion was terminated after he failed to discover his best form in South Yorkshire. But the 45-year-old’s hopes of doing so have been severely complicated by United’s financial situation.

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