"Not surprised" - Callum O'Hare, Premier League claim made following Sheffield United transfer | OneFootball

Coventry City fan pundit reacts to Callum O'Hare's move to Sheffield United following Premier League rumours.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Callum O'Hare left Coventry City at the end of his contract this summer, and has since signed for fellow Championship outfit Sheffield United.

O'Hare impressed in the second tier for the Sky Blues across his five-year stint at the club, having achieved promotion from League One as champions at the end of his debut season.

The 26-year-old signed for Coventry permanently in 2020 after being released by Aston Villa, following his successful loan spell with the Midlands club in League One. He was a key player under Mark Robins at both the start and latter days of his career at the CBS Arena.

There was plenty of speculation linking the midfielder with a move to the Premier League when his contract came to an end this summer, while Leeds United were also rumoured to be in for the player. However, he has signed a four-year deal with Sheffield United after they suffered relegation from the top flight last season.

Callum O'Hare may not be Premier League quality amid Sheffield United move

Despite being touted for a potential move to the Premier League this summer, O'Hare has instead agreed to join Sheffield United as they prepare to bounce back to the top division at the first time of asking.

Football League World's Sky Blues fan pundit, Neil Littlewood, has shared his thoughts on the move, explaining that he was not massively surprised when he saw O'Hare would be staying in the Championship.

Littlewood told FLW: "No matter how I put this, it is going to sound like sour grapes - I'm not surprised he did not end up in the Premier League.

"I don't think his numbers were good enough. He got six goals and three assists last season for us in the number 10 role, bearing in mind four of those goals came in two games - a brace against Leicester and a brace against Birmingham.

"He only seemed to turn up when the Sky cameras were there. Then again, maybe in the Premier League you would get a lot more out of him because he would have more games on TV. "He wanted to be on the same money as the top earners. Our club did not think that he should be on that sort of money, so he kind of, I don't want to say he downed tools, but you can see his performance levels dropped a little bit in the last few months. "I'm not surprised he did not get a Premier League move because I don't think he was quite there, but the way he was talking, the way his agent was talking, you know, a lot of noise was he was holding out for a Premier League move, so in that respect I'm shocked.

"I think he has probably landed at the sort of level that he probably is at, you know. If Sheffield United were to go up, I don't know if he would be a regular starter in the Premier League for them in the same way as Hamer was, so a strange move, I think, is the best way of putting it.

Coventry will hope they can get by without Callum O'Hare

As Littlewood mentioned, O'Hare scored six goals and assisted three in his 31 Championship appearances last season. He also scored four goals and assisted one during Coventry's run to the FA Cup semi-final.

While he may not be ready for the step-up to the Premier League just yet, his influence on the pitch will need to be replaced if Coventry are going to bridge the gap to the top six after finishing ninth last season.

The Sky Blues signed Jack Rudoni from Huddersfield Town earlier in the transfer window, and they will hope that his performances can soften the blow of O'Hare's departure.

There is plenty of creativity within Mark Robins' ranks even though O'Hare has departed, but one more attacking talent behind the strikers to compete with Rudoni wouldn't go amiss.