Chris Wilder makes Sheffield United contract stance clear with Gus Hamer on agenda in crunch owner meetings
Chris Wilder makes Sheffield United contract stance clear with Gus Hamer on agenda in crunch owner meetings
Chris Wilder has reiterated his desire to keep key men such as Gus Hamer and Andre Brooks at Sheffield United, ahead of planned talks with the Blades’ owners this week. Representatives of the United ownership group are set to watch tonight’s Championship clash with Coventry City at Bramall Lane.
Their time in England is also set to give Blades officials the chance to press their case forward on a number of areas, with player contracts high on the agenda of boss Wilder as he looks to continue his Blades rebuild.
Andre Brooks and Femi Seriki remain two of the priorities, with the academy products both in the final 18 months of their respective deals as things stand. Chief executive Stephen Bettis recently confirmed that United have options on both players, but that doesn’t mean the situation has been parked.
Even more pressing are the contract positions of Gus Hamer and Tyrese Campbell, who are also currently set to enter the final 12 months of their present deals in the summer. Historically that has been the point at which United have moved on players in cut-price deals, to avoid the possibility of letting them leave for nothing at the expiry of their contracts.
United broached the subject of new deals with the representatives of Hamer and Campbell towards the back end of last year, with their futures expected to be amongst the items on the agenda during sit-down talks with the owners this week.
Chris Wilder makes Sheffield United contract stance clear ahead of crunch owner meetings
“No, it's on,” insisted Wilder when asked if planned talks with Seriki and Brooks have been parked after the options reveal. “The owners are over in the next couple of days so we've got positive meetings, I should imagine, with them regarding what we talked about.
“I think Steve hit the nail on the head in everything he said in the fans’ forum, from the recruitment point of view, from the future planning point of view, from Dore, the academy, the culture of the club and where it goes forward.
“Everything he said in his interview was spot on. The ground, which he talked about. I walked around the ground on Sunday morning and thought about how iconic it is for us, what great nick it's in.
“The fan zone was absolutely mobbed, people queuing to get in there. I know it's a Sheffield derby and I hope we have the same atmosphere on Wednesday night because we definitely need that.
“We’ve got a lot going for us and top of the list is looking after and protecting ourselves with two great prospects. They have got an option in there but we shouldn't run it down or allow it to, and I'm sure there will be discussions on Wednesday to see where we are in terms of definitely extending those boys' contracts.”
Unitedites are also sweating over the future of Hamer, who has proved a real fans’ favourite since he made the move from tonight’s opponents back in 2023. “Tyrese and Gus are in a different situation, in terms of where their careers are,” Wilder added.
“But I want to keep my best players. I want to keep Gus. He's been outstanding. I'm sure there's another big performance in Gus on Wednesday night and Callum [O’Hare, his former Coventry teammate].
“There has been previously and I'm sure he'll know that he'll need to be at his best, and so will Callum. But yeah, we want to keep Gus and we want to keep Ty. They're a big part of what we're doing.
“But always, as we've talked about, their approach and their representatives' approach has to be respected. Where they see their future has to be respected as well, and then obviously we'll see how that evolves.”