Sheffield United owners fail to deny they proposed a staggering potential merger with bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday despite fan unrest

The US-based owners of Sheffield United have failed to deny that they contacted administrators handling the sale of rivals Wednesday.

Daily Mail Sport revealed yesterday that Begbies Traynor, who have been tasked with finding a buyer for the Owls, had received five bids and had also received an inquiry over the staggering prospect of a potential merger of the two South Yorkshire sides which was promptly dismissed.

It later emerged that COH Sports, who have been in control across the Steel City at Bramall Lane for 12 turbulent months, had been in touch with the administrators.

That development sparked inevitable fury among both fanbases. And this morning, COH have written a letter to United supporters.

In it, they fail to directly address the matter, and instead focus on Sunday’s 3-0 victory ay Hillsborough.

The group, which sacked manager Chris Wilder and then reinstated him after a horrendous start to the season under replacement Ruben Seles, admitted that they were disappointed with the campaign so far but added that they were determined to bring back Premier League football to the club. They also said they remained committed to the Blades.

Whether the communication appeases supporters remains to be seen.

The statement read: ‘As we approach the first anniversary of our ownership we wanted to take the time to address you, the supporters of our great Club. Like you, we are obviously disappointed with our start to the season. Even more so when this season is viewed in the context of how close we were to securing promotion back to the Premier League last May.

‘As the owners and custodians of the Club we remain hugely confident that with your support and some targeted additions to the squad that we will soon climb up the table back to where we belong.

‘But be under no illusion: bringing regular Premier League football to Sheffield United is why we are here. We are working as hard as we can to further modernise the Club so that it is in the strongest position to compete.

‘This journey is a marathon, not a sprint. Like all Clubs there has certainly been some ups and downs. However, our goals and commitment remain the same today as the day we walked in.

‘Namely that is to run a Club that has the smartest recruitment with the right balance of youth and experience; a Club that is at the cutting edge of data, analytics and medical developments; and a Club that has a deeper pool of commercial partnerships so that we can invest in the playing staff.

‘For now let’s focus all of our energy on supporting Chris and the team, starting with another big game under the lights on Wednesday.’

Wednesday hope to enter a period of exclusivity by December 5.