Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom is being patient as he waits to finalise his two Premier League loans.
The Blades boss has already admitted he is willing to go to the final day. As it stands, a number of names remain in the frame, including Manchester City’s James McAtee and Manchester United’s Facundo Pellistri.
Naturally, United’s preference would surely be to get McAtee in, given his success last season.
And looking over at Manchester City, it seems the path to signing McAtee might just be getting a bit clearer.
City are making some late moves in the market which will push McAtee further down the order. Pep Guardiola is close to landing Belgian winger Jeremy Doku from Rennes.
Meanwhile, City have now also made a move for Wolves centre-midfielder, Matheus Nunes.
Effectively, that’s two players who automatically shunt McAtee down the pecking order at The Etihad, given their positions. McAtee can play wide or centrally as we know. Of course, Nunes ticks the central box while Doku is a rapid winger.
It seems, then, that Paul Heckingbottom’s patience might well pay off and come next week, we might just see James McAtee back in red and white.
Sheffield United News View: McAtee over Doyle now for Blades
The signings of Gus Hamer and Vini Souza, as well as the arrival of Tom Davies, mean that there’s no longer a desperation for central midfielders at Bramall Lane.
It’s all about adding at the top of the pitch now and if we can sign McAtee, then it’s perfect. He was instrumental last season in us winning promotion and he could come straight into the team without any real settling in period.
Of course, if we can sign Pellistri as well then that’s a bonus on top.
This feels like a big week for United and really, a defining one.
Sheffield United’s Yorkshire rivals Leeds United are eyeing up two former Blades targets as they look to reinforce their squad ahead of next week’s transfer deadline, according to reports. The Championship side are eyeing up Lewis O’Brien of Nottingham Forest and are “closing in” on a deal for Rangers’ Glen Kamara, according to the Scottish Sun.
Both men have been players of interest in the past, with former Blades boss Chris Wilder a big admirer of Kamara during his time at Bramall Lane. With Paul Mitchell still in situ as the Blades’ head of recruitment there were inevitable links with Kamara again this summer, with United in need of midfield reinforcements and the Finland international heading for the Ibrox exit door.
But reports north of the border suggest that Kamara is “closing in” on a £5.5m deal to Elland Road, with boss Daniel Farke chasing Kamara all summer. The report adds that Leeds still face competition from Championship rivals Middlesbrough and Coventry City. “I think Glen is at a stage of his career, at 27, where he is either going to be here now for the rest of his career, be here for a considerable future, or we will probably sell him this summer,” Rangers boss Michael Beale said earlier this summer.
United were also previously keen on O’Brien, who impressed for Huddersfield before moving to Forest after their promotion to the Premier League. He didn’t feature much in his first season at the City Ground and after a loan move to Blackburn was scuppered to a paperwork mix-up, was loaned to DC United in the MLS.
Forest were not keen to entertain the idea of loaning O’Brien to a potential relegation rival in the Blades, and are thought to value the midfielder at around £10m. United instead snapped up free agent Tom Davies after his departure from Everton, and could use one of their two domestic loan slots to strengthen their midfield options amid a continued interest in last season’s loan star Tommy Doyle.
