Sheffield United quartet in talks over loan exit

Striker Caolan Lavery, midfielders Samir Carruthers and Nathan Thomas, and defender Ben Heneghan are all currently in talks with rival clubs about loan moves away from United.

With the Blades having already brought in new signings Lee Evans, James Wilson, Ryan Leonard and Ricky Holmes, boss Chris Wilder is looking to trim his squad and balance the club’s finances.

“There's interest and offers for Samir, Caolan, Ben and Nathan,” confirmed Wilder. “They take it on the chin, that for one reason or another they've not been able to force themselves in.

“But I'm not surprised they are attractive to other clubs because they're very good players with great attitudes.

“We've had a chat and they need to get some football between now and the end of the season.”

United have already seen Cameron Carter-Vickers return to Tottenham, following a loan spell with the Blades.

Wilder explained his reasoning behind allowing the 20-year-old - who featured 18 times for the Blades this season - to return to White Hart Lane.

He said: “We’ve got a fantastic relationship with Spurs. We wanted to be up front and honest with them, his parent club.

“Cam has done great and was a big part of what we've done at the start of the season.

“But with Ryan coming in, and with Bash (Chris Basham) being here, I couldn't see him getting in regularly.

“Ryan gives us that flexibility, like Bash, even though we'd like to nail them down to a position and are trying to get 'like for like' throughout the squad.”