Boss reveals Sheffield United January transfer window priority with Iliman Ndiaye, Sander Berge in demand

United are guaranteed to be in the top two after the first 23 games of the Championship season after establishing a five-point lead over third-placed Blackburn Rovers, ahead of Monday evening's Sky-televised trip to Wigan Athletic.

With nine goals apiece, Oli McBurnie and Iliman Ndiaye are the Blades' leading goalscorers while Chris Wilder, the former Blades boss, recently warned his old side to prepare for January interest in Anel Ahmedhodzic after the Bosnian's good start to life in English football.

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Ndiaye's future is amongst the Blades' immediate priorities, with his current contract set to expire in the summer of 2024, while Sander Berge's future will be again the subject of speculation when the window reopens for business on January 1.

"Keep the players," said Heckingbottom when asked about his January priority. "Get the players back fit and we'll have a good go with this squad.

"We look all the time [for targets], not just around windows. All the time. But the immediate priority is keeping the squad together. We've got ourselves in a position. A lot of speculation happened with our players in the summer and with the way we played and the way a lot of the players have played, there'll probably be speculation in January.

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"It comes with the territory when you're performing well but my job is to protect the team and players and try and achieve results. There's a bigger goal for us at the end of it which is potentially there rather than cashing in, which is my message and my belief."

Ndiaye's future is expected to come under intense scrutiny next month with clubs keen to exploit his increasingly-attractive contract situation. The Senegal international, who recently returned from duty at this winter's World Cup, and his representatives have been invited to the negotiating table to discuss fresh terms but his agent has shown little interest in doing so to date.

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