Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom believes the money could waste money on incomings this summer if he isn't a key decision-maker regarding transfers, speaking openly to The Star.

The Blades are yet to make a single signing so far this summer despite seeing a number of first-teamers depart, including David McGoldrick, Lys Mousset, Luke Freeman and Filip Uremovic.

Previously loanees Ben Davies, Conor Hourihane, Morgan Gibbs-White, Robin Olsen and Charlie Goode have also returned to their respective parent clubs, leaving big gaps in certain areas for the second-tier side's boss to fill.

With Heckingbottom likely to play with a back three again next season after experiencing success with this system last term, they are in desperate need of more central defenders, with a shot-stopper also needed if Adam Davies doesn't renew his contract.

Looking higher up the pitch, replacements for Hourihane and Gibbs-White are required, with the latter proving to be particularly important to the Blades' cause with his contributions in the final third, and a striker to fill the void left by the Wolves man may also be beneficial.

However, Heckingbottom isn't just focusing on which players he needs - but also the methods used to bring them in with the 44-year-old wanting a sizeable amount of control over who he recruits in the upcoming months.

He said: "You want to make sure the person is the right character and that they’re going to get minutes.

"So I don’t see the point if the manager isn’t involved in (making) signings.

"It can turn out to be a big waste of money if not."

The Verdict:

The Blades' boss has earned the right to be backed during this window after managing to turn things around following Slavisa Jokanovic's dismissal.

Although it may have been obvious what needed to change, with the Serbian's playing style and persistence with a back four clearly not working, the first-team squad could have mentally collapsed under Heckingbottom.

They endured such a poor start to the season, had one of their key assets in Sander Berge out and had sold another former star in Aaron Ramsdale, but the 44-year-old still managed to turn things around quickly.

The fact they managed to secure a place in the top six at the end of last term is a remarkable achievement and with some backing, United could easily be challenging for the top two during 2022/23.

Not only does he need to be backed financially - but he also needs to be backed with the right players and this is why the manager and the coaching staff should be fully involved in choosing which players should be pursued.