Sheffield United: Blades boss sheds further light on his transfer plans

Speaking ahead of tonight’s game against Coventry City, which could see United draw level on points with League One leaders Scunthorpe, Wilder also shed further light on his plans for next month’s transfer window by insisting he wants to “build” rather than overhaul the club’s first team squad.

“I don’t know if people outside have plans for any of our people,” Wilder said. “But I think this club has a history of letting good players go at the wrong point in time. I certainly don’t want to be doing that with the way the team is going at the moment. Daniel and Ethan, would that be an option longer term too? We’re looking to build and move on.”

Wilder made no secret of his desire to build a strong relationship with United’s hierarchy after being appointed manager and has publicly praised them for their support since taking charge in May. Coaching staff and directors have held a series of meetings over the past few weeks to finalise their strategy for the second-half of the campaign. The futures of Lafferty and Ebanks-Landell, signed on a season long-basis from Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively, are known to have been discussed. Paul Lambert, Wilder’s counterpart at Molineux, is expected to announce whether Ebanks-Landell will be allowed to complete his agreement with United before they face Northampton Town on December 31.

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Although United sold youngsters Che Adams and Dominic Calvert-Lewin before August’s transfer deadline, Wilder said: “We’re always sensible looking at situations. We did that with Dominic and Che, the money that was being offered and the level we were at. Also their ages and the fact they were keen to make the moves happen.

“Unless someone comes knocking on my door and wants to get away then no, we’re not looking to get anybody out. We feel we might make one or two changes in January but that’s all. We’ve worked hard to create that group dynamic. I always hear people saying ‘we’ve got a fantastic team spirit’ But it’s created by the people around the place and in the dressing room. We don’t want to smash that up.”