Gus Hamer to Sheffield United: Can the Coventry City man fill the Sander Berge void? | OneFootball

Coventry City midfielder Gustavo Hamer is attracting significant transfer interest this summer.

Hamer has established himself as one of the most creative players in the Championship since his move to the Coventry Building Society Arena from PEC Zwolle in July 2020 and he played a key role as the Sky Blues reached the play-off final last season.

But after Coventry missed out on promotion to the Premier League, Hamer's future at the club is uncertain.

According to TEAMtalk, the Sky Blues rejected a bid of £8 million plus defenders Bobby Thomas and Luke McNally for Hamer from Burnley last month, with the club said to be "reluctant to sell him unless it is a straight cash deal".

As we exclusively revealed in June, Leeds United were plotting an ambitious move for Hamer following their relegation to the Championship, while Fulham and Nottingham Forest have also been credited with an interest.

Daily Mail journalist Tom Collomosse claims that Sheffield United are the latest side to join the race for Hamer and he revealed that the Sky Blues could consider selling the 26-year-old for £15 million.

It has been a tough summer for the Blades following their promotion to the top flight, with key players such as Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge departing, but the income from their sales could provide the funds to enable the club make a move for Hamer.

What has Mark Robins said on Gustavo Hamer's future?

Hamer has just one year remaining on his contract at Coventry and he is yet to put pen-to-paper on an extension, with manager Mark Robins admitting his future is "up in the air".

"I think everyone wants him to stay and it’s down to Gus, but at the end of the day he’s a human being and has got his own ideas," Robins told CoventryLive.

"He’s been brilliant for us. I think, really, we have got to try and keep hold of him if we can but as I have said before, it’s really in his hands.

"We want to keep him, the supporters have made their voices clear today. I don’t know how Gus feels about that but he’s someone who just takes things in his stride and has a really good rapport with them and all the staff and players.

"Whatever happens, if he ends up moving on, it will hurt him for a while, there’s no doubt about that because he will miss it; everything that we have done together. But you have to look and say he has been phenomenal for us for three years and got better and better each season.

"And last season he single-handedly, really, got us into play-off contention and promotion contention, so his performances are incredible. Everyone saw that today when he came on. His quality and energy is something that we crave; we need and should that go then we need to replace that, if that’s what we have to do.

"Again, it’s still all to play for. It’s still up in the air, but that situation needs resolving quickly."

Would Gustavo Hamer be a good signing for Sheffield United?

With Hamer being linked with a move to Bramall Lane, we looked at his stats from last season to assess whether he would be an adequate replacement for Berge after the Norwegian's move to Burnley.

After the Blades lost Berge and Ndiaye, there are concerns over who will provide the attacking threat for United next season, but this is a department that Hamer excels in, having scored 11 goals and provided 10 assists in 45 appearances in all competitions last season for the Sky Blues.

Hamer remains a creative influence for Coventry this season, setting up Kyle McFadzean's opening goal in the 2-1 defeat at Leicester City on Sunday as he continues to perform at a high level despite the increasing transfer speculation.

Berge scored seven goals and provided six assists in 43 appearances for the Blades last season, so Hamer's arrival would certainly mitigate the loss of Berge's attacking quality.

According to Sofascore, Hamer averaged a goal every 386 minutes in the league for Coventry last season, averaging 2.6 shots per game, with 1.0 of those on target.

Hamer averaged 65 touches per game and his creative threat is underlined by the fact that he averaged 1.8 key passes per game.

The one area of concern for United is Hamer's disciplinary record as he received 10 yellows and two red cards last season.

Hamer would not offer the same defensive protection as Berge and he would need time to adapt to the Premier League, but there is no doubt he has the ability to make the step up to the top flight and he would be an excellent addition for the Blades.