Sheffield United’s summer transfer plan: Targets total, promising ‘narrative’ and Prince Abdullah backing

More than a dozen players out of contract. Five effectively on loan, including one returning to his parent club. A couple who don’t want to remain and, judging by some conveniently-timed transfer links in the last few days, are already being touted around by their representatives. This is, on many fronts, the most important summer transfer window in Sheffield United’s recent history.

Boss Chris Wilder has little alternative but to freshen up a group that has become increasingly stale by the week during this campaign, and so many players are reaching the end of the road at Bramall Lane. The season has not been good enough on many fronts. Recruitment. Availability and fitness. Performances and, most importantly, results.

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It may be all doom and gloom at the minute but this is a situation that Wilder has experienced before, and one that will not daunt him again. He still remembers walking into an early job at Halifax Town and having no players, no balls, no bibs and no cones. It was, he calls it, the ultimate blank canvas. He got to work, turning things around and setting into motion the chain of events that led him back to Bramall Lane in 2016.

The club was on the floor, having just finished 11th in League One and in need of a transformation. Within three years, the Blades were in the Premier League. Repeating the feat is no certainty but at the same time, Wilder agrees with the notion that the past can influence the future. “I'd like to think so,” he said. “I've done it before so I've got experience and we've had success at it.”

Wilder is looking to take advantage of United’s unfortunate position of knowing next season’s fate by beginning the process of talking to agents and sounding-out transfer targets, in a bid to gain a headstart over the two other clubs that will join them in the Championship next season. He flew to Riyadh to speak with Prince Abdullah earlier this year, with regular Zoom calls with the Blades owner and the rest of the board to formulate their approach for this summer and beyond.

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“I think if you're trying to sell your car and it's a clapped-out one on bricks and needs an MOT, it might be quite difficult to sell. But we've got a decent car that we're selling. A decent football club we're putting to players and the narrative coming back is that players would want to come to us. Whether that's loan signings or permanent ones.

“We're still looked at as a good club, I'd like to think we're still looked at as good people to work for in terms of the coaches and the manager. We'll still have a decent group to work with, with the young players coming through. The sell, as it always is, has to be positive and has to be on the front foot, and I'm sure that's the backing I'll get from the owner. He understands the situation.”

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United will again look to utilise the loan market to bolster their squad, taking advantage of their reputation as a good club for top sides to entrust with their brightest young talent. A promising crop of youngsters may also gain increased first-team exposure, with Oliver Arblaster one player to have enhanced his reputation this season. Wilder expects to sign between eight and 10 players this summer with five loanees - including Cameron Archer, who will return to Aston Villa in the summer after United’s relegation - and a similar number of out-of-contract players set to depart, plus a high-profile sale or two to make up the financial defecit of dropping out of the top flight.

“We have to move quickly because there's a lot of work to be done, but we have something to sell,” Wilder said. “There's no shadow of a doubt, if we're at home for the first game of the season, it'll be a sell-out. Because that's the way football works. People understand it's been a poor season but we'll sign a few new players and they'll go: He's decent, I like the look of him, I can see what they're doing. I understand why he's gone and he's come in.’

“Enthusiasm grows, into pre-season, start seeing the team develop and build. I'm not saying we're going to absolutely hit the ground running because there's a lot of work to be done, but as soon as we get into pre-season and the fixtures come out, the supporters’ enthusiasm and optimism will grow. And it's up to me to put that together, with the owner and the board and the CEO, and then be excited about what's going on and what the future holds for us.”