Sheffield United make exciting admission over Man City duo James McAtee and Tommy Doyle

Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has heaped praise on Manchester City youngsters James McAtee and Tommy Doyle during their time on loan with the Championship club.

City sanctioned the loan deals for both McAtee and Doyle this summer, as Pep Guardiola looks for the pair to get some valuable first-team experience while away from the club. The Blades are currently third in the Championship and that is in no small part due to the impact of the young duo.

McAtee has slowly edged is way into Heckingbottom's starting XI, scoring once and providing one assist in his last two starts for the club. The 20-year-old now looks set for a string of starts after biding his time with six consecutive substitute appearances in a row earlier in the season.

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Doyle has joined McAtee in United's midfield, with the 21-year-old starting seven of the last eight games for his loan side. The pair have impressed Heckingbottom during their time at Bramall Lane, particularly with the absence of Sander Berge, as the City starlets attempt to fill the void of goals and assists left behind by the Norwegian's injury.

When asked about McAtee's strengths, Heckingbottom said: "Making the box and getting in the box, definitely. You're always looking for that dynamic. Macca [McAtee] has scored [against Blackpool]. We had it last year and I am reluctant to say too much about what we change and why we change it, but we had to try and create chances and score goals when we didn't have centre forwards.

"If we're playing that team with two centre forwards and two attacking midfielders we're not sitting in to keep a clean sheet. It's like now with Macca and Tommy [Doyle]. I accept