Kieran Maguire shares verdict on Sheffield United transfer plans after Heckingbottom sack
The cost of replacing Paul Heckingbottom with Chris Wilder will not impact the January transfer budget at Sheffield United.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that United’s biggest issue in the January window is that club owner Prince Abdullah will not provide a competitive budget for any manager.
The Blades currently sit bottom of the Premier League after 16 games with just eight points on the board in 2023/24.
The Yorkshire club sacked Heckingbottom as manager earlier this month and announced that Wilder would return to the club in his place.
The 56-year-old is tasked with turning things around at Bramall Lane, and will have the January transfer window to refresh his squad ready for the second half of the season.
However, Heckingbottom is entitled to compensation as a result of his sacking, while Wilder will also have been handed a signing-on bonus when re-hired by the Blades.
Maguire believes that the managerial changes will not come at a huge cost to Sheffield United, but believes Prince Abdullah is a bigger issue for the club’s transfer plans.
“I suspect that Heckingbottom was on a relatively modest contract, so his sacking won’t have a huge impact on budget,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“It won’t be too restrictive when it comes to Sheffield United’s ability to spend in the January market.
“What is more of a concern to their January plans is the lack of willingness from the owner to give any manager a competitive budget.
“We saw in the summer that he was more interested in player sales than player purchases.
“We know that there has been interest in selling the club but that has so far ended up being a farce.
“So under the present ownership, it is very frustrating for Blades fans.“
In other news, Sheffield United set sights on January loan signings