Sheffield Utd unable to attract

Nigel Clough admits Sheffield United's current plight makes it tougher for the club to recruit the calibre of striker he wants.

Clough has struggled in his search for a proven new goalscorer following injuries to Michael Higdon and Marc McNulty, but hopes to add to his squad this week. Higdon (hamstring) and McNulty (facial injuries) are expected to remain sidelined for another two weeks. "Good strikers are thin on the ground at the moment," Clough said. "All the way through from the top. "You can imagine when top teams are struggling to get them how difficult it is for us in League One at times. "When we do ring clubs and ask for a particular player they say 'well he doesn't want to drop down to League One' and then other Championship clubs will take them. "Sometimes they'll let them out of the Championship club, sometimes they won't, so the player says 'well I'll just stay where I am then'. "So we've been faced with that as well. What they'll do in the Championship and above is collect them. "Even if they've got two on the bench, they're fine with that and one in the stand, just in case he gets injured or he gets injured. "It's a frustrating business chasing, but you just keep doing it. "Chelsea are unusual because they only want three. I think the majority of other top teams want four or five good strikers available. "That goes on down into the Championship. I don't see too many good ones out there, certainly that are available to us."