Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has reiterated his desire to see Billy Sharp remain at the club.
The prolific frontman has dropped down the pecking order at Bramall Lane, leading to Nottingham Forest being linked with their former striker.
Sabri Lamouchi remains keen to add firepower to his squad, in a bid to relieve some of the pressure on 14-goal leading scorer Lewis Grabban.
Sharp has reportedly turned down moves to the Championship, instead preferring to fight for his place at his beloved United, and Wilder insisted the decision remains firmly in the 33-year-old’s hands.
"I spoke to him about three weeks ago about it, knowing what would come up in January," Wilder said.
"And rightly so.
"If I was in the Championship and needed someone to give us a boost in January and score us some goals between now and the end of the season and saw that Bill Sharp wasn't playing at Sheffield United then I would be asking the question.
"Always the decision is with Billy.
“Obviously from an individual point of view, Billy is disappointed he's not playing.
“The decision is with him and if he comes to me and says he needs to be playing then I will respect that.
"But we need him here as well between now and the end of the season so our need is just as big, if not bigger, as those clubs in the Championship."
