Sheffield United's Danny Webber has pledged his future to the club, dismissing reported interest from fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Crystal Palace.
Webber, 26, has cut a frustrated figure over the past two seasons as injuries have limited his progress, but the pacey striker hinted at a return to form with a brace of strikes in United's opening pre-season game against Hungarian sister club Ferenc
város.
Ex-Manchester United trainee Webber, right, admitted there had been interest from other clubs in his services, but insisted he was fully committed to the Blades.
"I want to be here, otherwise I could have moved on – I'm happy here and I want to show everybody I can play good football."
Webber's performance in the 3-2 win over the Hungarian side was one of many pleasing aspects of the display, with new loan signing Greg Halford looking assured in his first display in a United shirt.
Billy Sharp, another striker who endured a relatively disappointing season last year, also looked lively as a second half substitute, and capped his performance with the decisive goal.
Webber's desire to stay and Sharp's pleasing start to pre-season are good news for manager Kevin Blackwell, who continues to see his star striker James Beattie linked with a summer exit from Bramall Lane.
Beattie's exclusion from United's pre-season tour of Hungary, Belgium and the Netherlands with a calf problem has served to heighten the speculation around the burly striker, despite Blades' chairman Kevin McCabe insisting it would take "something exceptional" for the club to part with the former Everton and Southampton man.
Also on the transfer front, striker Rob Hulse could be se for a £1.5 million switch to Championship rivals Derby County, while Blackwell is still hopeful of adding Dave Cotterill to his squad.
The Wigan winger impressed with his pace and trickery in his 15 game loan spell at Bramall Lane last season.
However, the former Leeds and Luton boss admits that there are still "some stumbling blocks" preventing the deal from being tied up.
Blackwell will be keen to add the tricky Welshman to his ranks, as chairman Kevin McCabe raised the stakes this week, ahead of the new Championship season.
McCabe declared that anything less than promotion from the second tier would be classed as a failure this season, saying: "Success is what's on the agenda and that success to me is getting back to the Premier League next season.
"We're working hard to make this happen but a fair wind is also needed."
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The full article contains 432 words and appears in Yorkshire Sport newspaper.
