Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom wants to address six or seven positions during the summer window, making this revelation to The Star following their play-off semi-final defeat to Nottingham Forest.

The 44-year-old will be keen for the Blades to act more swiftly in the market than they did last summer under Slavisa Jokanovic, only being able to get deals over the line in August despite Slavisa Jokanovic being appointed way back in May.

Bringing in Ben Davies, Morgan Gibbs-White, Conor Hourihane and Robin Olsen before recruiting Adlene Guedioura the following month, they addressed their previous lack of central midfield options and already had plenty of forward but found themselves short in other areas.

One area they were particularly light was in the wing position with Jokanovic opting to move away from a back-three system, a decision that arguably cost the Serbian his job with a lack of orthodox options out wide stifling their process under the two-time Championship promotion-winning manager.

Heckingbottom has decided against utilising advanced wide players during his time in charge at Bramall Lane thus far, but still wants to address 'six or seven' areas going into the new second-tier campaign, with one of those confirmed to be the goalkeeping department.

However, it's currently unclear what budget he will have with the South Yorkshire side currently the subject of a takeover bid from American businessman Henry Mauriss.

The Verdict:

Starting from the back, Heckingbottom seems to be keen on retaining Davies and that certainly isn't a bad stance to take considering how well the Welshman would probably step up to the plate if Wes Foderingham was ruled out of action.

One more option at right wing-back could be beneficial though depending on Ben Osborn's future - and similar applies with the left side with Max Lowe potentially moving on permanently from Bramall Lane in the summer.

It's the centre-back position that requires the most surgery out of those positions though with Filip Uremovic's future uncertain, Charlie Goode returning to Brentford, Davies returning to Liverpool and Jack O'Connell potentially not ready to return.

A couple of options will probably be needed in midfield with Hourihane and Gibbs-White both departing, with a replacement for the latter particularly important because of the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee's impact at Bramall Lane during 2021/22. Sander Berge's future will also determine who they will need.

Up top, David McGoldrick is set to depart on the expiration of his contract and that could persuade Heckingbottom to recruit a replacement, especially if Daniel Jebbison is made available for another loan or they want to try and cash in on Oli McBurnie, though it may be difficult to offload him at this stage.