Transfer encouragement for Chris Wilder after chats with "excited" Sheffield United new owners
Transfer encouragement for Chris Wilder after chats with "excited" Sheffield United new owners
Chris Wilder has admitted he is “encouraged” by the willingness shown by Sheffield United’s new owners to support him in this transfer window. The Blades have targeted a handful of new players to bolster their squad for the second half of the season, prioritising a quality over quantity approach.
United are unlikely to secure a breakthrough ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Watford and then break from Championship action for a fortnight for the FA Cup, relieving a bit of the pressure to get bodies through the door. But United need help badly with their threadbare squad stretched to breaking point in some areas, but crucially all at United are on the same page.
The Blades are monitoring Ben Brereton Diaz’s situation at Southampton while Louie Barry and Hamza Choudhury, of Aston Villa and Leicester City respectively, are also targets for United, who travel to Watford third in the Championship and only below second-placed Burnley on goal difference.
“I've had incredibly positive talks with the new owners and Stephen Bettis,” Wilder said this afternoon. “Our targets we are chasing down, we're in dialogue with parent clubs as well. It's not straight-forward, I never expected anything to be done before Saturday with the window only just opening.
“Historically it’s a tough window to work in and when players are coveted by other clubs they're looking to see what other opportunities there are to make a couple of quid and get the best possible deal. We're looking to get the best possible deal from a financial point of view and there's options for the players. I would imagine the players we're in for will have other clubs that want their services.
"I met the new owners last week, we had a recruitment meeting, I've been in constant contact personally and through Stephen Bettis and I'm really encouraged and delighted by their approach to help me out. They want to support me and they know we need players in to bolster and boost the group for the second part of the season and they're excited about the future just as much as I am.”