Why Sheffield United's new first-team training ground should be as big a boost to their academy

Looking for a new, bigger site for training in a city without vast quantities of spare land has been one of the club's aims for years.

It is finally going to happen now the site of the HSBC Sports and Social Club in Dore has been secured.

There are plans for two full-sized Desso pitches, additional grass and all-weather pitches, first-team offices, a gymnasium and potential player residential accommodation.

But crucially, the club will keep its current Shirecliffe headquarters and make it a dedicated site for their academy.

Even in his first spell as first-team manager, Chris Wilder spoke of the need to work towards Category One academy status.

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Under English football’s Elite Player Performance Plan, the highest-ranked academies – 26 of them, including Leeds United and Middlesbrough – have certain privileges, including greater funding, access to certain competitions both at youth level and in the Football League Trophy, and favourable terms for signing players from lower-category academies.

In return they have to meet a range of strict criteria, one of which around the number of dedicated pitches is impossible while the first-team share Shirecliffe with them.

It is why, despite having produced two of the key figures of one of the most successful England teams of all time in Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire, the Blades do not have top status.

They are continuing to produce, with the likes of Andre Brooks and Will Osula playing important roles this season and Oliver Arblaster set to be the next after making his Premier League debut against Arsenal on Monday.

"We have the ambition to be Cat One but we can't fit everyone onto this site," said Wilder. "I think we'd be a really good Cat One football club. We're producing players against the odds really, getting swarmed by Man City, Man United, Everton, Liverpool, Leeds and everybody around us, all Cat One who have that opportunity of nicking all our best players.

"So for those players to stay, the likes of Blaster and Brooks, who want to play for this football club, that's absolute gold dust.

"To improve our status in academy football where we're punching against the big 'uns, we want to give the academy the best opportunity of improving players, getting more players and keeping more players.

"All the good work, we can't just undo that by losing players to Cat One clubs. Ambitions to be Cat One mean we need to have a bigger site for the first team and that's been ongoing for a number of years."