Sheffield United trip puts Man City transfer decisions on two players into focus

Two of the stars of Sheffield United's promotion might be present on Sunday against Manchester City - but they won't be representing the Blades.

City will be clear favourites when they return to Bramall Lane this weekend, looking for a third win in succession while Sheffield United have lost two out of two so far. Even without Pep Guardiola on the touchline, or Kevin De Bruyne in midfield, City will be confident of keeping up their 100 per cent record.

Helping their case will be Sheffield United's incomplete transfer business, with Paul Heckingbottom's side struggling to build his squad ahead of their return to the Premier League. Former Everton midfielder Tom Davies and Coventry's Gustavo Hamer are the standout arrivals in a summer when talisman Iliman Ndiaye, midfielder Sander Berge and long-standing forward Billy Sharp have left.

Two departures from the promotion-winning side are City duo James McAtee and Tommy Doyle, who may return to Bramall Lane this weekend - but both face uncertainty over their futures with a week left of the transfer window.

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When both were ineligible against City in the FA Cup semi-final earlier this year, Sheffield United were off balance and clearly missed the midfield pair. Even with their replacements, two defeats from two winnable games is a disappointing return and the sense from the outside looking in is that the Blades haven't exactly strengthened their promotion-winning squad.

McAtee has more chance of being involved against his former loan club given that he has been around the first-team squad since pre-season. He scored against Bayern Munich in Japan, and has been in every squad since returning. However,