Sheffield United: Gus Hamer can dictate Chris Wilder success - View | OneFootball

Gus Hamer's role in Sheffield United's promotion push under Chris Wilder could make all the difference in 2024/25.

Sheffield United midfielder Gus Hamer could be a key figure for Chris Wilder in next season's iteration of the Championship, and is a player that the Blades should be building their team around.

After Coventry City missed out on promotion to the Premier League themselves last season, Hamer's future at the club was cast into deep uncertainty. He was linked with various clubs with just one year left on his deal, and as per Mike McGrath of The Telegraph, the Blades eventually agreed a deal worth up to £15 million with Cov for their midfield star.

He was seen as a marquee signing and was thrown straight into action in August during an away trip to Nottingham Forest, where he announced his arrival to the top-flight of England in style, scoring a stunning debut goal in a 1-1 draw.

Gus Hamer and Sheffield United in 2023/24

Hamer then netted just three further times in the Premier League for Sheffield United, with one coming in a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, another coming during a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, and the final one during a defeat to Burnley.

After selling both Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye over the summer, the Blades were made favourites for the drop despite the likes of Cameron Archer and Hamer arriving at Bramall Lane, and Chris Wilder was unable to turn things around, meaning Hamer's stint in the Premier League was to be a brief one.

He, and his new club, clearly found the step-up to the Premier League difficult, leaving Hamer with a decision to make this summer. He could choose to stay with the South Yorkshire outfit to attempt to gain an immediate promotion back to the top-flight, or jump ship to a new club and have another stab at Premier League football elsewhere.

Although the club has had struggles in 2023/24, Hamer has been one of their better performers, predominantly playing in a deeper midfield role, but occasionally further forward to link up with players such as Archer. He was the shining light in an otherwise disappointing season, alongside Ben Brereton-Diaz.

For most of his career for the Sky Blues, he has been deployed in deeper midfield roles, as a box-to-box or defensive-midfielder; but has showed a different side to his game in his final season in the Midlands in a more freed up, attack-minded role.

He scored 11 goals and claimed a further 10 assists from 45 games for Coventry, including heroics in the play-off semi-final against Middlesbrough and the final against Luton Town, scoring in two of those three vital games.

However, Hamer has shown that he is not necessarily an attacking-midfielder now, as he remains combative and aggressive in the centre of the park, with a strong eye for a pass as well, which is why he is the ideal player for Wilder next year as his star man.

It's fair to say that Sheffield United come back down to the second tier as the third favourites to bounce back up automatically, with Luton Town and Burnley more fancied by fans and pundits alike to be a success; but with Wilder in charge, anything is possible when considering his track record with the Blades in the Championship.

Brereton-Diaz was only a loanee and the likes of Archer, Chris Basham, George Baldock, Wes Foderingham, Max Lowe, and Ollie Norwood are set to depart before the end of the month. They are losing vital quality and experience, and players that have done the business before under Wilder in this league, too. It leaves Hamer to be one of the main men central to Wilder's rebuild this summer.

Relegation will naturally bring about other changes, and Sheffield United will almost certainly feel the financial pressure of needing to sell one or two other assets, making Hamer a distinct possibility for clubs in the lower half of the Premier League. However, they should do all that they can to retain his services, as his role could be even more paramount than before, with Norwood and Ben Osborn set to depart, and James McAtee's loan ending.

He turns 27 this summer, and another attribute that the squad is lacking is vital experience and leadership as well. Over the three seasons with Coventry, Hamer went on to make 132 appearances in all competitions, contributing to vital goals and assists in that time, with his performances twice winning him the club's Player of the Year award, highlighting his quality at second tier level.

He has the personality to be a leader within their dressing room, as well as the ability to dominate games and get his foot on the ball, or to play quickly in transition. Hamer's range of passing and feel for the tempo of a game are excellent attributes of his, as he is capable of controlling them or punching passes through the lines in the chaos of a counter-attack.

His aggressive ball-winning is also likely to be critical for Wilder, with Hamer able to dictate games, score goals, and contribute defensively as the total package for a midfield player. If the Blades chief can keep hold of the midfielder and build the side around him this summer, then not many fans of the EFL would write the Blades off if they have Hamer playing under a manager like Wilder in what looks likely to be a weaker Championship than 2022/23.