Can Paul Heckingbottom lead Sheffield United to Premier League safety? Photo: Action Images/Ed Sykes.
Prince Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud was on the pitch at Bramall Lane seconds after promotion to the Premier League was sealed. His team had just beaten West Bromwich Albion and set a goal set by Iliman Ndiaye's creativity and scored by Sander Berge after a breakneck run from midfield.
The Greasy Chip Butty song blared over the loudspeakers as the club owner congratulated his players. Loan couple James McAtee and Manchester City's Tommy Doyle have celebrated a productive year away from the Etihad Stadium. Berge and Ndiaye sang «we rise» along with the fans. Billy Sharp was also there, securing his second promotion in the top flight.
In less than four months, the prize will arrive when Crystal Palace arrives in Yorkshire for the season opener. There will be fans in the stands, unlike when they last played in the Premier League and were relegated during Project Restart, losing the home advantage their fans gave to Chris Wilder's team.
And here's those players who made it to the Premier League will not be there. Their most creative player, Ndiaye, was sold to Marseille, where he always dreamed of playing. McAtee and Doyle returned to City, while Sharp was not given a new contract and left as a free agent. Berge, who was in the last year of his contract, was sold to Burnley last week, although he is known not to have pressed for a departure.
There is no doubt that Sheffield United, under Prince Abdullah, has been more about selling than buying this summer. Promoted teams usually ask questions about how many new signings will ruin the league winning formula, but in this case manager Paul Heckingbottom lost momentum with 91 points and a place in the FA Cup semi-final.
The club is likely to miss the work of Iliman Ndiaye. Photo: Action Images/Ed Sykes
Prince Abdullah's appetite for spending has vanished, judging by the summer transfer window. While his countrymen are investing heavily in salaries and transfer fees to get Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia, the Sheffield United owner's rule will be defined by thrift. Instead of the Saudi Pro League's wild spending, Heckingbottom has a team with less experience in the Premier League that looks weakened compared to last season.
“We have signed guys who are far from where they will end up. . We have not signed anyone who is a finished article,” Heckingbottom said. “This is a big leap for them and we want to work with them and hopefully take them to the next level.”
They have signed American centre-back Auston Trusty from Arsenal, who has no Premier League experience but performed well at Birmingham City last season. Tunisia striker Anis Slimane and Côte d'Ivoire striker Beni Traore have shown promising results in Scandinavia, but they are a long way from the Premier League. Brazil midfielder Vinicius Sousa was added last week under a deal with Lommel.
More arrivals are expected. The Blades have been looking for a deal for Gustavo Hamer at Coventry City that would add some creativity to the midfield, although their work in the market comes across as a last-minute rush to see what they can get before the start of the season.
“Since November 2021, when I was appointed, we have lost 18 players and gained three. We need more players. My job is to push and push us to make us stronger — we can't hide from the fact,» Heckingbottom added. «When you watch us train, we're nowhere near where we should be.
Onward journey: Premier League preview
“There was quite a lot of negativity when I talked to people, but what we do now will define our season. Prince Abdullah assured me that there is money to spend, so we need to go and spend it. I'm fighting and looking to give us the best possible chance.”
As it stands, the bigger questions include how many points Sheffield United will score and how they rank against other teams that have looked bad. -equipped for the premier league.
Last year, Heckingbottom put together a winning team amid turmoil. They were under an EFL transfer embargo due to non-payment of payments to another club. It also emerged that they needed to urgently pay a bill for subsoil heating oil at the training ground, as it had not previously been paid.
Prince was considering selling the club for £115m. season Dozi Mmobuozy, whose interest in the purchase led him to invest more than £8m in a potential takeover. But the takeover never took place. There was also genuine interest from the US consortium from Silicon Valley, but it also did not move to the last stages of the deal.
So we are at the beginning of the season with the prince at the head, although hardly with expectations to come as a surprise, as it was in 2019.
“We've done this before. What an opportunity for the academy guys and the young ones we just signed. They know they will be dropped immediately with a chance to start playing in the Premier League right away,” said Heckingbottom.
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