Why Sheffield United didn’t re-sign Tommy Doyle ahead of Man City loan star’s return v Wolves

Sheffield United were not in the financial situation to sign Tommy Doyle in the summer, manager Paul Heckingbottom has suggested, as the Blades prepare to face their former loan star for the first time since his spell at Bramall Lane came to an end. The England U21 international spent last season on loan at United and helped them win promotion to the Premier League.

Doyle spent the season in South Yorkshire alongside his Manchester City teammate James McAtee, with Premier League loans ruling out a repeat of the double loan deal this time around. McAtee eventually returned to Bramall Lane on deadline day in the summer but Doyle moved to Wolves, initially on loan with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.

A bargain fee of just over £4m was agreed with Wolves, leading to many Blades fans wondering why they did not enter the race for Doyle’s services. As The Star reported over the summer, is understood that his wages at City would have made any permanent deal difficult to do, while City agreed a £53m deal to sign Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes at a similar time.

Admitting United and Doyle had “a good time together last year,” Heckingbottom described Doyle as “a great kid. He had a couple of loans which were indifferent but someone I’d seen a lot of and knew a lot about. I knew his character and also his technical ability. I was pretty sure he was what we were looking for and what we were after. He did great. We were good for him and he was good for us. I have nothing but praise for him, he’s a good lad.”

McBurnie’s United future admission amid transfer link with Rangers

Asked if United ever had a chance of signing him in the summer, the United chief admitted: “No. Listen, he wanted to and we’d have taken him, without a doubt. But City were keen to sell. Finances, that’s all it was.” United were working with a tight budget of around £20m for permanent signings in the summer, with McAtee a top target all summer in a bid to add more potency to United’s top-flight attack.

But there is an argument to be made that Doyle’s impact at Bramall Lane can go on, having set the benchmark for future loanees to reach. He fully bought into life in South Yorkshire during his time here, never once seeing himself as a City player out on loan and became fully invested into United life. His performances on the pitch, culminating in a late stunner against Blackburn Rovers that sent United to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, saw him become a firm favourite amongst the Blades fanbase.

Hecky addresses injuries, sack speculation, Wolves & season approach

“We’ve had lots of good loans like that,” Heckingbottom admitted ahead of this weekend’s clash with Wolves. “Some [loan players] transition into it easier than others. Things fall into place and they can do it. I wouldn’t necessarily say Tommy was like that, or Macca. They had to fight and scrap to get in ,and we had to work hard to get them to the level that would improve the XI. But it will always be about what you do on the pitch. Always.”