Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder provides transfer update and urges his side to embrace pressure at top after beating Norwich City
SHEFFIELD United manager Chris Wilder has confirmed that he expects to sign five players by the end of the transfer window - following a day which saw his side move top of the Championship.
United saw off Norwich 2-0 and are set to secure a much-needed transfer breakthrough soon, with Ben Brereton Diaz set to join on loan and the club hoping to finalise a deal to sign Tom Cannon.
He said: “We’re after five new players and I expect to sign them all.
"We’re close on three, we’re talking to number-one targets, and from a financial and personality point of view, they all want to come and be part of a hopefully successful last 19 games of the season.
"We’ll just work relentlessly to bring players in to support this group and make it better.
"We need to be when we look at the teams around us and what they’ve got in terms of strength and depth.
"These last 19 games are going to fly and physically we’re going to get massively tested, so we need options.”
Wilder professed to being delighted with his side’s all-round team performance on a day when Harrison Burrows scored his first two home goals at Bramall Lane to sink Norwich – and the Blades boss had urged his side to embrace the pressure, knowing it was an afternoon when victory would have seen them go top.
He said: "I thought it was good against a team who were pretty similar to us in missing a few players, but on a decent run as well. It was a dangerous game.
"But I thought we got everything right and the shape of the team out of possession was good.
"We defended really well and being back to clean sheets and with the other part of the game. I thought we were aggressive when we had to step into them and created key chances and the timings of the goals were good and the second settled us down and I was delighted with the attitude of the team after that and it looked as if they really enjoyed the afternoon and we never sat back.
"It was a good afternoon for us. We spoke about it at the start of the game and I have always embraced it and we are in the position for a reason. We can’t not talk about opportunities to go top of the division. Why should we ignore it?.
"I thought it was good against a team who were pretty similar to us in missing a few players, but on a decent run as well. It was a dangerous game.
"But I thought we got everything right and the shape of the team out of possession was good."