Leeds striker extends loan spell; Beattie invited to train with Blades

The 20-year-old has been at the Crown Ground for the last month, making four appearances for John Coleman’s men.

Hatfield also spent time on loan at York last season but has yet to make his debut for his parent club.

He said: “I’m pleased to be staying. I’ve enjoyed my time here, I’ve played a few games, made a few appearances off the bench and it’s a shame we haven’t done as well as a team as we would have liked.”

• Former SHEFFIELD UNITED striker James Beattie has been invited to train with the club by manager Danny Wilson.

Beattie, 33, is seeking to revive his career after an injury-ravaged spell at Scottish club Rangers and has recently been training with Bournemouth.

He was hugely popular during a 16-month stay with the Blades four seasons ago and was sold to Stoke City for £3.5m after the club failed to secure a return to the Premier League.

• DONCASTER Rovers were not close to signing former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires, according to manager Dean Saunders.

The 38-year-old World Cup and European Championship winner has been without a club since his summer release from Aston Villa and revealed on his Twitter account that he rejected a move to Rovers, who have adopted a bold new transfer policy in recent weeks.

Pires tweeted: “I am happy they think I can help them but it’s not in my plan to play there.”

But Saunders insists a deal was never on the cards.

“I never spoke to him,” he said.

“Someone asked him if he’d be interested and he said no, I never got round to talking to him.”

Saunders also hopes Billy Sharp will remain a Doncaster player.

The 25-year-old striker, who has scored four goals in nine starts this term, has attracted recent interest from Ipswich, whose manager Paul Jewell claimed they would activate a release clause in Sharp’s contract in January.

“I don’t want to lose Billy, he scores goals and that’s hard to come by,” Saunders said. “I am hoping he will stay with us, he is looking sharper every day.”