Sheffield United's squad handed key 'embargo order' ahead of FA Cup visit to Wrexham
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Second in the Championship table and 13 points clear of third place, United enjoy a break from the challenge of trying to deliver promotion when they visit Wrexham in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Unbeaten in nine outings, with eight of those resulting in wins, Heckingbottom’s men are on course to return to the Premier League two years after being relegated from the top-flight. Convinced that advancing into the latter stages of the knockout competition will have a positive effect upon their bid to climb out of the second tier, the United manager said: “What’s happened can’t become a distraction. Nothing can distract us. I’ve told the lads that.”
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Hide AdUnited were sanctioned by the EFL after failing to pay a debt owed to another club relating to a previous dealing in the transfer market. They have 30 days to find a solution, beginning when the measure was imposed, or face being banned from processing any new signings for another two windows.
Heckingbottom had hoped to use this one to draft-in a replacement for Reda Khadra, whose loan from Brighton and Hove Albion was terminated after he failed to discover his best form in South Yorkshire. But the 45-year-old’s hopes of doing so have been severely complicated by United’s financial situation.