Ruben Selles sends clear warning to Sheffield United boardroom | OneFootball

Ruben Selles has warned the Sheffield United board against sanctioning further departures of key players.

Sheffield United head coach Ruben Selles has admitted he would be disappointed if the club were to sell any more key players without bringing replacements in first.

After losing to Sunderland in last season's play-off final, Sheffield United made the controversial decision to part company with popular manager Chris Wilder in June due to disagreements over their new data-driven recruitment model, and they replaced him with Selles.

As FLW exclusively revealed last month, Selles is having to work on a limited budget this summer, and the Blades have brought in five new signings during the transfer window so far, with Mihail Polendakov and Ehije Ukaki joining on a permanent basis and Tyler Bindon, Djibril Soumare and Louie Barry arriving on loan.

United have also sold a number of key players this summer, and after midfielder Vini Souza completed a £12.8 million move to Wolfsburg last month, defender Anel Ahmedhodzic and striker Kieffer Moore departed for Feyenoord and Wrexham respectively last week, just days before the start of the season.

With the Blades looking light in certain areas of the squad, Selles' reign got off to a nightmare start as his side were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Bristol City in their opening game of the campaign at Bramall Lane on Saturday.

Ruben Selles issues Sheffield United transfer warning

After the departures of Ahmedhodzic, Souza and Moore, there could be another high-profile exit on the cards at Sheffield United amid speculation linking captain Jack Robinson, who started the defeat to Bristol City on the bench, with a move to Wrexham, while fellow defender Rhys Norrington-Davies is believed to be on the radar of Queens Park Rangers.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Birmingham City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, Selles admitted that he would be frustrated if the club were to allow any more players to depart without having a replacement already through the door.

"I would be very disappointed if someone goes out before someone comes in," Selles told The Star.

"We cannot allow that to happen. No one should go before we get anybody and Jack will have teams who want him. I don't pay much attention to those things."

The Blades are said to be attempting to offload winger Jefferson Cacares to free up an ESC spot in their squad, and that could enable them to sign Malmo defender Nils Zatterstrom, while they are also keen on Everton's Ben Godfrey.

However, despite insisting that he does not want to see any more players sold, Selles refused to give assurances over Robinson's long-term future at Bramall Lane, although he did confirm that he would feature in the cup tie against the Blues.

"I already said that I never say never, there are a lot of factors on that. For the moment, and that's all I can say because of the nature of the situation. I'm not going to talk more than in 24 or 48 hours. He's our player, he's our captain and he's ready to play tomorrow," Selles told The Star.

Sheffield United board must back Ruben Selles after bold transfer comments

The Sheffield United board made the big decision to replace Wilder with Selles this summer, and they must now provide the Spaniard with the necessary tools to deliver a promotion push.

After selling Ahmedhodzic, Selles was forced to field Bindon and left-back Norrington-Davies as a makeshift centre-back pairing on Saturday, and the pair struggled to cope with the lively Bristol City attack, so the departure of Robinson would further weaken the Blades' vulnerable back line.

Selles is taking something of a risk by firing such a public warning towards the United hierarchy, but there is no doubt that United cannot afford too many more departures this summer, particularly as their restricted budget will make it tough for them to bring in replacements of a similar quality.