United's attempts to enter the loan market have so far proved fruitless, and any move to bring back Kyle Walker from Spurs seems certain to fail at this stage.

A fresh batch of injuries has hit the Blades' squad and unless new recruits are brought in then some players will have to play when not fully fit this weekend.

"We have tried with no luck so far, so it looks as if we will have to muddle through with what we have," admitted Sam Ellis who also believes that Walker's recall by Spurs and his subsequent involvement there mitigate against him being loaned back to United:

"There have been no new talks about that because Kyle has been on the bench for Tottenham and they have injuries of their own to cover, too.

"If he does play and plays well there will be no reason why Spurs would let him out anyway, of course, and the decision will be made by Spurs because he is their player."