Think Sheffield United, like most Premier League clubs now, have a "loan manager" who recommends what to do with their pitch on loan players, so unless that's changed too I would guess the plan (whatever it is) won't change too much.
IMHO I think the plan has always been see how he does and see how Sheffield United do. If he's doing well and they're struggling, as is the case, they recall him in Jan, send him to a Championship club on loan to see how he does there, then stick him in their team when they come down so they have a ready made Championship player and they can flog someone like Gustavo Hamer to Fulham for £30m and bank the cash.