Wednesday 8 January 2014 16:34, UK
Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough insists he will not rush into any signings this month.
January could be a telling period for the Blades as they enter a first transfer window since Prince Abdullah bought into the club and promised the funds to take them back to the Premier League. Clough is on the look out for additions as he tries to haul his side away from relegation danger in League One and has admitted to making several enquiries. But, despite the expectations of fans to go big in the transfer market, the boss will bide his time. "There have been no breakthroughs, just one or two enquiries at this stage, but there has been some encouragement," Clough said. "The majority of the deals will be loans, but what we will try and do is any loans that we take will be looking at them for next season as well. It's a good opportunity to get people in for three months. "There are also one or two that could be permanent, but then you have to agree fees and it becomes more difficult. "We will certainly be making one or two enquiries for permanent moves. "It is early days yet, but we want two or three in. The main factor for us that the players are better or different to what we have, we won't bring in players just for the sake of it." Clough has led the Blades on a run of one defeat in 10 games, culminating in last week's superb FA Cup win at Aston Villa, and that has seen the emergence of several players who were previously out of favour. The likes of Jamie Murphy, Jose Baxter and Ryan Flynn have all come into the fray in recent weeks and impressed and Clough admits they have changed his plans in the transfer market. "Some players have changed my opinion of them from when I first came in," he added. "It might save us bringing one or two players in. "We want to make sure as well that the players are rewarded, there's no urgency to rush out and bring people in. If these lads can repeat the form of the last couple of months then great."