What Chris Wilder and the Sheffield United board are planning to do in January - this is a positive promise | OneFootball

In a revealing interview with BBC Sheffield, Blades CEO Stephen Bettis has discussed the club's transfer plans for the January transfer window.

The Sheffield United CEO Stephen Bettis has spoken frankly about his club's plans for the January transfer window, and it could be good news for Blades fans.

The Sheffield United CEO Stephen Bettis has spoken openly and frankly about the club's struggles this season, bringing Chris Wilder back to the club as a replacement for Ruben Selles, the club's AI-inspired transfer policy, and plans to redevelop the club's academy.

But of particular interest to Blades fans will be his comments on what the club's transfer policy will be in the January transfer window. Following a disastrous start to the season, the possibility of the club getting back to the Premier League season is already starting to look slight, but Bettis was clear that there is a plan in place for January, with a promise made that Wilder taking a far more hands-on role in the club's recruitment process than his predecessor.

"Chris is not like all managers" - Stephen Bettis speaks on Sheffield United's January transfer window plans

In a one-hour special devoted to the Blades on BBC Sheffield, Bettis spoke about the differences between Wilder and Selles' attitudes when it came to recruitment at Sheffield United: "Chris is not like all managers. He certainly wasn't like Ruben in that respect. Ruben was more hands-off in the recruitment process and was happy to be guided by the data and our recruitment team. Chris is a lot more hands-on in the way he works, and I think everyone knows that".

One clear difference between the styles of these two very different managers was clearly explained by Bettis: "When Ruben was here I spoke to him maybe three times a week and saw him once a week. I speak to Chris three times a day because he's on it constantly, and I think it's just different personalities, different ways that people work. But Chris is definitely very hands-on where recruitment is concerned."

And Blades fans will be very pleased to hear that there is already a plan in place for the club's January transfer window activity: "I think Chris has got a very clear plan at the moment of what he wants to do in January. We've been through it in detail and I've also sent it to the board last week so they're clear on where his head is in terms of what he wants to do."

But Bettis was also keen to point out the flexibility of these plans, and that things could yet change before the window opens: "Is that cast in stone at the moment? I don't think it is, and I think that will move slightly as we get closer to January. Different players will start coming into form more than others etc, and that may change Chris's mind on the targets that he wants to make changes to in January. But I think there's a very clear idea at this point in time of where we're going to and what he wants to do."

The CEO's comments are a reflection of the difficult year that Sheffield United have had. After missing out on promotion back to the Premier League as a result of losing the Championship play-off final to Sunderland, the club decided to dispense with the services of Chris Wilder, replacing him with Ruben Selles.

But it was clear from the opening day of the season, when the Blades were beaten 4-1 at home by Bristol City, that there was a big problem, and by the time that Selles was sacked on the 14th September they'd lost all of their first five games of the season and had been eliminated from the EFL Cup.

Wilder's return to the club signalled a move back to where the club was at the very end of last season, and there was an acknowledgment on the part of Bettis during the interview that the decision to move from one transfer model seems to have been a mistake.

At such times, fans may worry about whether Sheffield United were just jumping from pillar to post, but the way in which the Blades CEO spoke about their future strategy confirms that Wilder will be given the players that he needs in order to be competitive, but also that these plans remain malleable and flexible. It all looks like a very solid strategy at a club which has looked from the outside for much of the time since the end of 2024-25 as though it didn't really have one.