Sheffield United owner, Prince Abdullah, and the rest of the board are meeting in Dubai next week to set the summer transfer budget.
With the Blades on a winter break from Premier League action, manager Chris Wilder and CEO Stephen Bettis will fly out to meet with the club hierarchy.
United have broken their transfer record five times since gaining promotion to the top flight. The most recent example was the £22m (BBC Sport) paid to Genk for Sander Berge during the January transfer window.
Bettis says that the money sanctioned for Berge was separate from the original January budget set to Wilder and his recruitment team.
So how will the midfielder’s arrival affect the finances given for new signings at the end of the season?
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“Before the January window even opened we had a plan in terms of a monetary sum for January. But we also we had a plan for the coming summer as well. They were both looked at together and it’s something we’re now revisiting after what happened in January,” Bettis told BBC Radio Sheffield.
“We’ve got meetings next week in Dubai with Prince Abdullah and the board, where we’re straight back onto it and talking about what we’re doing in the summer.
“Chris has already highlighted positions that he wants to strengthen in the summer and by the end of next week we’ll be close to agreeing the numbers. So Chris can start looking to strengthen those positions at the point in time when the window opens.”
Other factors affecting Sheffield United summer budget
(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
The Blades have enjoyed an impressive first season back in the Premier League. After 26 games they are fifth in the table with 39 points.
Relegation is no longer an issue, with many instead discussing the realistic prospect of United qualifying for Europe. Yet that is not the only thing that will affect the budget.
“Not only Europe, but just finishing higher up in the league,” Bettis continued. “Every position you finish higher up in the league there’s an extra sum of money you get for doing it.
“Those sums of money, when you start talking about not finishing 17th, as an example, but seventh – that’s 10 positions and ends up being a significant sum. Which if you then utilise that to strengthen the squad with you get a lot back for it.
“The board and Prince Abdullah want to continue to push this club forward as much as they can. But it’s being done in the right way, in a sustainable way. It’s not boom and bust. There’s a three to five year plan with this and we’ve sat and talked about it many times. We’ll talk about it and update it again next week.”
We have written before about how final league position is reflected in financial reward. Every place higher in the table is worth around £2m more in prize money.
As of this season, money from overseas TV rights is also divided based on a club’s place in the league. Foreign broadcasters paid around £367m for the 2019/20 campaign.
If the Blades can maintain their excellent form and positioning, then we could well be seeing more signings like Berge in the summer.
