Oli McBurnie signing clear indication of Sheffield United’s Premier League ambitions

Oliver McBurnie welcomed by manager Chris Wilder at the Shirecliffe Training Complex. Picture: Simon Bellis/Sportimage

SHEFFIELD UNITED manager Chris Wilder believes the record breaking capture of Oli McBurnie underlines the club’s ambitions ahead of their Premier League return.

The Blades have agreed a £17m deal with Swansea City for the 23-year-old that will rise by a further £3m should Yorkshire’s sole top flight representative avoid the drop in the coming season.

It is the fourth time inside a month that United have broken their transfer record and takes the club’s spending since winning promotion to around £45m.

Wilder said: “Over the years, we have had the stigma of a selling club and, of course, there will be sales in the future.

“But it should be noted that we are a buying club, we’ve spent a significant amount and the owners deserve a huge amount of credit for the way they have sanctioned our assault on the transfer market.”

McBurnie has become the eighth new face to arrive at Bramall Lane this summer. He was always Wilder’s number one target to bolster the strikeforce after netting 22 times in the Championship last season for Swansea.

Wilder, whose side tackle French club Stade de Reims today in a friendly, added: “We need options at the top of the pitch and Oli, as anyone who has watched a significant amount of Championship football will tell you, offers plenty in that area.

“He fits the profile of our transfer policy this season and is an age where his better years are ahead of him.

“Hopefully, he and we as a club can go on and continue to grow together.”