Sheffield United

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James McAtee said his "emotional connection" with Sheffield United was a factor behind his return to the club.

The 20-year-old midfielder is back at Bramall Lane for another loan spell after his impressive time with the club last season.

"I'm excited to be back and I can't wait to get back out onto the pitch," he said.

"It has been very last-minute, I've kept my head down, trained hard at City and waited to see what was happening. I think the emotional connection with the club and the opportunity to play in the Premier League were big factors in me coming back.

"I got a warm welcome last week when I came back with City - thanks to all the fans for that - and it was a great game. I had mixed emotions, it was a special atmosphere, I was telling my mates about the Greasy Chip Butty song."

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Manchester City midfielder James McAtee has re-joined Sheffield United on a season-long loan.

The 20-year-old played 37 times for the Blades in the Championship last term, helping them win promotion to the Premier League.

He also helped the club reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup but was unable to play in their Wembley defeat against parent club City.

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Former Manchester City and Tottenham midfielder Michael Brown has been speaking to BBC Sport about what it's like for players looking for moves on deadline day: "When it's today you are putting pressure on everybody involved, you’ll be saying 'what’s the answer? Where is it at? What is the bid? Have the clubs bid? Have they been talking? What is my new deal at the club? Is it ready? Can we agree terms? Is it a loan deal?

"It's getting very, very late now for it to start, if it's been already developing which most will, you're just praying that if you want to go you can get it done quickly. Sometimes you can be part of a package deal where you're waiting for someone else and that is the frustrating one - when you're waiting for one to leave and one to come in for your deal to happen and it's out of your control sometimes.

"There'll be certain young players today who will be looking at moves to other Premier League sides and watching other players going and thinking 'right I can get my move now', but in the meantime you're just left waiting and that can be a difficult one and it can be just too late."

Former Manchester City and Tottenham midfielder Michael Brown has been speaking to BBC Sport about a busy deadline day so far: "They're happening aren't they? There's a lot movement because of the amount of transfers.

"Once the big clubs start moving, that's what triggers everything else. The loans are waiting, all your leagues are waiting for the bigger clubs – the Championship, lower end of the Premier League - are all waiting to see what loans they can do and get in their side.

"That's the waiting game, but we've seen quite a lot of movement so far. There's been some big moves - Chelsea involved again which is no surprise, Villa starting to get going, what Manchester United are going to bring on the loan deals as well, so it's exciting."

We asked who would make your deadline day wish list.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Pete: They need McAtee for a start. Last season he gave us a fresh start through the middle, scoring goals also. He is young and hungry for first team-football. He is all over the pitch with his energy, which is something we need to sharpen us up.

Matt: McAtee please. We need someone to help link up the midfield with the attack and he knows the manager and the club's tactics already, so could slot in immediately.

Rob: Has to be McAtee and another midfielder. Would Smith Rowe come on loan?

David: Hugo Loris and Divok Origi would complete the team.

Whether it turns out to be a day of high drama or ultimately a bit of a damp squib for your club, you can still rarely take your eye off transfer deadline day.

Are you hoping for a rush of late deals or expecting a relatively quiet one?

Either way, you can follow live text coverage throughout the day here.

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When does the transfer window close?

The transfer window will close at 23:00 BST on Friday for the Premier League and English Football League, while in Scotland, the window will shut at midnight.

Across Europe, the Bundesliga window will close at 17:00, Serie A at 19:00, Ligue 1 at 22:00 and La Liga at 23:00 but the Women's Super League transfer window remains open until 14 September.

The transfer window for the Saudi Pro League, to where a number of high-profile Premier League players have moved this summer, is set to close on 7 September.

Can a Premier League player signed on deadline day play this weekend?

Under league rules, new signings are eligible for the next Premier League game if the club submit the required documents by midday on the last working day before that match.

So any player signed after 12:00 on deadline day would be unable to play in this round of Premier League fixtures.

Where can I see all the confirmed transfer deals on deadline day?

You can find all the deals completed on transfer deadline day within our dedicated confirmed transfers page.

When does the January transfer window open?

Clubs will be able to make transfers again from Monday, 1 January until Thursday, 1 February at 23:00 GMT.

How can I follow transfer deadline day on the BBC?

From 07:00 on Friday, we will have a page dedicated to all the latest transfer news, reaction and analysis. You cannot miss it as it will be the first thing you see on our football website.

You will also find regular updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and breaking news across BBC Sport's social media channels, including X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

There will also be a special edition of The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer and the Red Button from 22:00 until 23:30.

• There have been just five goals scored in the five Premier League meetings between Sheffield United (two) and Everton (three) at Bramall Lane, with no side scoring more than once in any of those games.

• Both the Blades and the Toffees have lost each of their first three league games this season; this will be only the fifth occasion of two sides facing each other on 0 points in a Premier League match having both played at least three games, after Southampton v Swindon in August 1993, Portsmouth v Bolton in September 2009, Sheff Utd v Fulham in October 2020 and Arsenal v Norwich in September 2021.

• Everton are yet to score or pick up a point in the Premier League this season. Only in 1926-27 (first five) and 1958-59 (first six) have the Toffees ever lost each of their opening four games of a league season in their history, while in English top-flight history, only four sides have ever lost and failed to score in their first four fixtures: Derby in 1899-1900, Stoke in 1906-07, Preston in 1924-25 and Crystal Palace in 2017-18.

• Sheffield United are averaging fewer shots per game than any other Premier League side so far this season (seven), while also facing more than any other side (23.3 per game). However, Everton are yet to score despite averaging 14.3 shots and 1.6 xG per game.

Paul Heckingbottom has been speaking to the media before Sheffield United’s game with Everton on Saturday.

Here are the key lines:

• He is hoping for more new faces on deadline day: "We are down the line with things. Close is a strange thing because you never know which little bit is going to hold you up. We are not waiting on anyone now or on clubs making decisions – we are in a position now where we are ready to go."

• With that in mind, he wants to get business done sharply on Friday: "I would love it if we could get them in early so I could go home after training, put my feet up and prepare for the Everton game. I am hoping that is what our window looks like."

• However, he also says he will be content if they do not make any more additions: "I am happy with [the squad] now. Good players and characters. We [only] want to strengthen to give ourselves the best chance."

• He accepts his squad, particularly in forward areas, would benefit from more experience: "At the top end of the pitch, what is going to help us to score goals, bearing in mind we are nowhere near the full potential of the boys we have got and those we have signed and where we have signed them from."

• New signing Luke Thomas will be in contention to face the Toffees: "Luke has come in to play. He is going to be involved at the weekend. His willingness and desire to come and play for us was a big thing. He knows the league and has good quality."

• On any injury concerns: "Lowey [Max Lowe] and Ben [Osborn] are going to be a while. It’d be a stretch for Oli [McBurnie] to do 90 but he’s in contention to start. The plan was to give Anis (Slimane) some minutes last night but it doesn’t always go to plan."

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Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall has been speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield's Blades Heaven podcast looking ahead to United's Premier League game against Everton: "It's not must win, no. We'd love to win but it's not the end of the season if we don't.

"I go back a long time to when I was playing at Bradford and I think we got almost a third of our points in the last five games. We got ten points and I think we finished with 36, but got 10 of them in the last five games. I think Forest went a couple of months last season without picking up a victory, so we don't want that to happen naturally, but we can't put it as a must win game and if we don't win and come away with appoint it's all doom and gloom.

"The lads are settling in, we might hopefully get in a couple more faces before the window closes and as I say there's been some good signs in the new players that we brought in and we'll be ready to give it a go."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

What would a dream deadline day look like for you?

What more do Sheffield United need?

Send us your thoughts here

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Sheffield United have moved to bolster their defence by signing Leicester full-back Luke Thomas on a season-long loan.

The 22-year-old has yet to play for the Foxes this season but has 56 Premier League appearances under his belt and has mostly featured at left-back for his hometown club.

"When United came in a few days ago, it was an easy decision for me," Thomas said. "Coming back to playing Premier League football is obviously what I wanted to do. Coming here is a great experience and I can't wait to get started.

"I had interest elsewhere at the time but then United came along. I can't wait to get going."

Boss Paul Heckingbottom said: "Luke has got a top pedigree, he's a good young player who also has a wealth of experience at Premier League level. What also impressed me was that he was hungry to come in and is keen to get started."

He is the third defensive acquisition for the Blades this summer after Yasser Larouci and Aaron Trusty joined from Troyes and Arsenal respectively.

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Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards on why James McAtee's proposed return to Sheffield United is good news for the Blades: "He had such a good loan spell there and was a key part of their promoted team. His career really blossomed away from City and playing every week. He is still rated really highly at City.

"Sheffield United have suffered from losing him. It has been a really difficult start to the season for them. They are in a relegation battle - we all knew that before a ball was kicked so this will be a huge boost for them."

Listen to the rest of today's gossip on BBC Sounds

Sheffield United are leading the race to sign Manchester City's England Under-21 midfielder James McAtee, 20. It would be a second loan spell at the club after he spent last season at Bramall Lane. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall said the Blades were boring to watch in their Carabao Cup loss to League One side Lincoln City: "A poor flat performance has given us a poor result, there's no getting away from it. Credit to Lincoln, they made it difficult to play against, but we never moved the ball quick enough and got into areas we wanted to.

"If I'm being honest, we were bored ourselves watching it, we needed more impetus. We didn't do enough to win the game. It seemed quite flat.

"We have to move on to a huge game on Saturday against Everton. There's no excuses, the side we put out there should perform better. Take nothing away from Lincoln but we were pretty dull.

"We were desperate to win tonight and we put a team out that we believed we could do that.

"We were just boring really, we had no thrust. That is not what we want to be at Bramall Lane. Hugely disappointing throughout the night from start to finish. We can't afford many of them."

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Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom's focus over the coming days will be on trying to bring more players into the club before the transfer window closes on Friday.

The Blades take on League One side Lincoln City in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, but Heckingbottom will also have his attention on reinforcing his squad.

Cameron Archer became the club's eighth summer signing last week when he joined from Aston Villa, but with a number of departures this summer Heckingbottom is expecting more late arrivals.

"I want as many as possible. Me and [club owner] Prince Abdullah speak all the time and he would want as many as possible.

"There is only so much in terms of resources. We are going to work as hard as we can to end the window as strong as we possibly can.

"How many do we want? As many as possible, and I may have to leave people out of the 25 as well. Realistically, we know how tough it is to get players in. That's going to be our focus over the next few days."

Ben Meakin, BladesPod, external

Some 27 days after selling Iliman Ndiaye to Marseille, Sheffield United finally signed another attacking player as Cameron Archer was unveiled to the Bramall Lane crowd before the game against Manchester City. It’s a move we’ve been eyeing for a while and I’m excited to see what he can bring to our side over the remaining 35 games.

When we were last promoted to the Premier League in 2019, our transfer policy largely revolved around cherry-picking the best from the Championship – a policy that didn’t really work out, with only Oli McBurnie making a meaningful contribution from that crop of signings.

You could make the case that we’ve ended up adopting a similar ethos this summer, with Archer joining Coventry City standout Gus Hamer and Birmingham City’s player of the year Auston Trusty.

However, all signs point to Archer being ready to step up to the Premier League, particularly in a team where he’ll immediately become the main man up top.

Archer’s half-season loan at Middlesbrough last campaign could scarcely have gone better. He was arguably the standout player in the Championship in 2023, racking up 11 goals and six assists in 20 matches for Boro. Archer’s underlying numbers, external were even more impressive: his expected goals per 90 minutes played were in the 91st percentile, while his expected assist numbers were higher than any other player in the league last season.

In Archer and Hamer, we might have replaced the goals and chance creation that we lost the second Ndiaye decided he wanted to move to his boyhood club. Hopefully our new striker can hit the ground running.

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We asked for your views on Sunday's game between Sheffield United and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Sheffield United fans

Chris: Before the match, I would've taken a 2-1 defeat against the best club side in the world. But, apart from a bad decision by our left-back in not clearing the ball, I don’t think City would have got the second goal. We got nothing out of that game, so biased towards City it was unreal.

Anthony: Unlucky losing to two 88th minute goals two weeks in a row. Larouci inexplicably gave up the ball for the winner. The Blades will win enough to stay up if they keep playing like this. Next week's game against Everton is a six pointer!

Bob: The Blades played much better than they did against Crystal Palace. The defending was good and the passing was very impressive. I think after we scored, City went into top gear and just overwhelmed our defence as they bombarded our goal. A great game to watch and a good performance by the Blades against a brilliant Manchester City.

David: A great battling performance from the Blades which bodes well for the rest of the season. Archer will give them the bite up front and I'm going to back them to stay up!

Manchester City fans

Dave: I thought we should have buried more chances than we did. Haaland was unlucky not to score the penalty, but that proves he is human. He made up for it with that header though! Kyle [Walker] made up for his mistake, I'm glad he is staying with us.

Rodrigue: I was watching the match on TV. The game was tough in the first half and we were better after half-time. The game showed the team isn't ready and with De Bruyne injured, the start of the season will be long.

Howard: I feel that City have lost some of the hunger required to go again, after a tremendous last season. They're still an elite group of players, however they seem a little weary. It's perhaps a little too early to be making predictions but I feel that the title this season will be an outsider's chance, possibly Aston Villa or Spurs.

Andrew: City not at their best yet but they've still won three out of three and have the highest goal difference. This must be worrying for the rest when they begin to really up their game.

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom to Sky Sports: "I'd prefer the points to any pats on the back, to be honest. You have to be perfect to beat Manchester City and the two goals we conceded we could have done better with those. But we can't focus on that and forget about the other 99.5% of times where we got things perfect.

"Sometimes it is not your day. We lost the ball out on the touchline, didn't deal with it, Phil Foden's touch got away from him for once, and then the ball fell into the path of Rodri who slammed it home. If you look at the stats, they show City's dominance. But for us, the performance we wanted to put in to get the points, we were almost there.

"We have gotten better and better, game on game. It was a different type of performance today against the best team in the land. We have players to come back from injury, players who have come back in today, and more to add. We handicapped ourselves in some circumstances but we will look to come out of the transfer window as strong as we possibly can and look to pick up points as quickly as possible."

Tom Mallows, BBC Sport

There will be mixed feelings from Sheffield United fans after their late defeat by Manchester City.

There will be the obvious disappointment at the result, which means they have lost the first three games of a league season for just the fourth time in their history.

There will also be frustration at the manner of the defeat, with Rodri's 88th-minute winner arriving just three minutes after Jayden bogle's leveller sent Bramall Lane into raptures.

However, they can also take great heart from a resilient performance that very nearly earned a point against the Premier League and European champions.

A lengthy injury list that dogged the start of their campaign is also starting to ease, with Bogle and Oli McBurnie making their first appearances of the season off the bench after returning to fitness.

It means the Blades have plenty of reasons for optimism as they prepare to host fellow strugglers Everton next weekend in what already looks like a significant encounter at the foot of the table.

Former Tottenham and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson on Radio 5 Live: "Paul Heckingbottom's team defended excellently well in the first half. They disrupted Manchester City and didn't make it easy for them.

"Sheffield United found a way back into the game. Their manager will be delighted with what he's seen today."

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports: "An exciting end to the game wasn't it?

"I felt that when it went to 1-1, Sheffield United seemed to lose their heads a bit. They were flying around after the ball, clearly feeding off the energy from the crowd. They just needed to calm themselves down.

"But, in the end, City showed their class, and that is what top teams do."