Sheffield United: Deal for Newcastle defender placed on ice amid takeover uncertainty

The Republic of Ireland international, acquired on a season long loan from Newcastle, enters tomorrow’s game against Blackpool having scored his first goal for Paul Heckingbottom’s side during Monday’s win over Coventry City.

Clark’s performances since recovering from the injury which forced him to miss 15 matches earlier this term, combined with the fact his contract at St James’ Park expires in June, has led to calls for United to begin investigating the possibility of keeping him beyond the summer. But with Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in talks about relinquishing control of the Championship club, sources in South Yorkshire last night told The Star that could prove impossible in the present circumstances.

Speaking before watching his team beat City, a result which saw them strengthen their grip on an automatic promotion place, Heckingbottom admitted Prince Abdullah’s negotiations would “inevitably” have an effect upon United’s work during next month’s transfer window with ensuring Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge remain at his disposal the 45-year-old’s top priority. Although United have not spoken publicly about Prince Abdullah’s reasons for looking to sell his shareholding, it is no secret that coaching staff were ordered to make a series of cuts to their budgets before the start of the present campaign because of the pressure on United’s finances.

The situation almost certainly explains why Clark was non-committal about his prospects of joining United at the end of his temporary agreement as United prepared to face Mark Robins’ side. But the centre-half, who together with fellow loanees James McAtee and Tommy Doyle was on target during that fixture, demonstrated his loyalty by revealing he was ready to forgo spending Christmas with his family in order to get ready for a game which saw second-placed United move eight points clear of Blackburn Rovers in third.

Meanwhile, Norwich City have sacked their manager Dean Smith after winning only three of their ast 13 outings. United are scheduled to face Smith’s former employers at Carrow Road on April 1st.