'Blades' opener will test pre-season changes'

Sheffield United will go into the new Championship season with many of the players who came within a whisker of promotion to the Premier League.

There are seasoned professionals, players with top-flight experience and plenty of exciting youngsters; both from the Blades' academy and those who have been recruited over the past few seasons.

There are also a lot of unknowns at Bramall Lane as a new era begins with new manager Ruben Selles chosen to lead the Blades by American owners COH Sports in their first full season in the boardroom.

The time to fully judge a club's summer business is when the transfer window closes but, right now, while the squad has quality, it feels weaker than last season and lacks depth in several areas.

And part of that is due to players choosing Championship rivals over a return to Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United offered record signing Rhian Brewster a new contract and reportedly wanted to re-sign fellow striker Oli McBurnie.

But Brewster has elected to join Derby and Hull City are set to win McBurnie's signature - those are two teams who were battling relegation last season.

The Blades have now sold defender Anel Ahmedhodzic to Dutch side Feyenoord with striker Kieffer Moore joining newly-promoted Wrexham, and that's after seeing Vinicius Souza depart for a big-money move to VfL Wolfsburg in Germany.

Ahmedhodzic and Souza were key parts of last season's promotion push, with both starting the Championship play-off final, and supporters will expect the significant sums received for the pair to be reinvested over the next month.

Some would be happy to see Brewster, McBurnie and Moore plying their trade at other second-tier clubs this season, as all three players had their critics among the Blades' fanbase.

Others will have concerns about the club's ambitions off the pitch, and its ability on the pitch to compete for promotion - considering this summer's business so far and in referring to what the board said in a statement when Selles was appointed.

"As owners, please know that we remain unwavering in our goal: to see Sheffield United not only return to the Premier League, but to establish ourselves as a club that can compete consistently at a high level," the statement said.

In May, the Blades beat Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate over two legs in the play-off semi-finals to secure their place at Wembley.

This Saturday's Championship opener at Bramall Lane between the same two sides will provide an initial test of the changes made in pre-season and an indication of the work still required if the Blades are to succeed where they ultimately fell short last term.