Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder pulled no punches once again in his latest press conference ahead of Aston Villa tonight.
The Blades boss sat down in front of the media as he prepares to take on in-form Villa and their widely lauded manager, Unai Emery.
Of course, as well as the Villa game, there was talk about January. And in his comments, Wilder admitted he’d need to be quick and decisive in moving some players on, suggesting he’d already taken a look and made his mind up on a few.
“We have to [be ready]. The recruitment department is there and has options as well. We have to [be ready] regardless of the situation. We’ve talked about it and the board [and I] are on the same page. There’s certain areas we’d like to improve and certain players that we feel are surplus so lets be decisive and front foot and make them decisions,” Wilder also added.
Clearly, then, Wilder has made his mind up here in the short time he’s been back.
But just who is in danger of being sent on their way in January? Well, we’ve had a quick look.
Sheffield United players set to leave in January
There are some obvious names who spring straight to mind. The left-back duo of Yasser Larouci and Luke Thomas are clearly not fancied by Wilder, with neither playing a part since he came in.
Both are on loan and if there’s a chance those deals can be cut, then it should happen.
Adam Davies is a player who might be surplus too. He seems behind Jordan Amissah now and that could be a wage saved.
Beyond those players, we could start looking into those who are out of contract in the summer.
John Fleck is well known to Wilder but is unlikely to get many minutes. Oli McBurnie has yet to sign a new deal and if a decent offer comes, United will consider it. Likewise, the injured Daniel Jebbison.
Benie Traore could be one of the players who goes on loan. The summer signing has failed to settle and has looked well off the pace when given a chance.
Of course, United need a squad. But there are players here who could be moved on. Chris Basham is also an interesting name. He is out of contract too and with a serious injury to get over, United could cut ties or at least remove him from the 25 man squad.