Sheffield United make FA Cup claim about Man City duo James McAtee and Tommy Doyle
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Although UEFA permits footballers to compete in similar situations - Joao Cancelo, who completed a temporary transfer to Bayern Munich from the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, took part in the Germans’ Champions League tie with Pep Guardiola’s side on Wednesday - England’s governing body does not allow them to do so.
Both McAtee and Doyle, who scored the winning goal when United beat Blackburn Rovers to set up their clash with City, have emerged as important figures in a team which travels to Wembley only one win away from sealing automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
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Speaking ahead of the contest, Heckingbottom admitted he could have no complaints about the situation as “we already knew the rules” before entering the tournament.
MORE: Tommy’s family tree
But he revealed: “It might get looked at, the loans. I know there’s been a lot of talk about it. From growing up, I’ve always been used to the fact you can’t play against your parent club. This is the first time I’ve seen the bad side of it because I know these lads are desperate to play.”
As The Star revealed earlier this week, both Doyle and McAtee will travel to Wembley in order to watch the game. Their absence will force United to rearrange their midfield, with the experienced Oliver Norwood expected to start in place of Doyle.
“Ollie was performing really well before Tommy came in, arguably one of our players of the season,” Heckingbottom said. “Sometimes, there comes a point when you just want to change or alternate things and it’s the personnel changes which have allowed us to win the games we have. That doesn’t devalue anyone. Oli and Flecky (John Fleck), for me, have both done really well.”
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Hide Ad“I don’t look at it as if we’ve got a set starting eleven,” he added. “I don’t think you can with the number of subs you can use these days.”