Gus Hamer underlines Sheffield United importance again as rival boss addresses Leeds United transfer approach
Gus Hamer’s superb season start justifies both Leeds United transfer interest and firm Sheffield United future stance
Sheffield United have always been at their best when their efforts are more about the collective than the individual but there can be little doubt that, in Gus Hamer, they possess one of the best footballers in the entire Championship. The former Coventry City man was United’s player of the year last season in the Premier League and has shone so far this term with four goals in his six games so far.
The latest was the winner in a tight 1-0 victory over Derby County on Saturday, showing both the intelligence to spot a gap at the near post and then the ability to find it with a superb free-kick. Utilised slightly out of position on the left wing, but given licence to roam inside and link up with former Coventry teammate Callum O’Hare particularly, Hamer is showing exactly why United’s rivals Leeds tried to sign him in the summer - and exactly why the Blades were so determined to keep him.
“He’s offering assists and goals, which we need at the top of the pitch,” Wilder said of Hamer. “It was funny, I jumped on Jack Lester's back when it went in because he asked if Gus had seen that little bit of an angle there. It’s still a magnificent finish, and it's not a criticism of the opposition or their set-up, but Gus spotted that. We didn't want it to be a game of basketball, and give that first goal up. So we had to have that balance, but it would have been a really difficult afternoon if they got the first goal.”
Asked if Hamer was the best player in the Championship, Wilder admitted: “Well, he’s got to be up there, with four goals in six games. And the manner of them too, like his goal at Preston and his goal today. The one against QPR. He’s a big player for us but all those teams that want to have good seasons and be successful, they need game-changers. I’m not saying his goal was a game-changer, because I believe we’d have got the result we wanted. Big moments, I suppose, is a better way of putting it.”
Leeds tried to unsettle Hamer with a derisory £13m bid, after signing Jayden Bogle from Bramall Lane earlier in the summer, and the episode only intensified the rivalry between two Yorkshire rivals who meet for the first time at Elland Road next month.
Asked the same question, about Hamer’s rank amongst his peers in the second tier, Derby boss Paul Warne smiled back: “The people who say that, are they mostly Sheff U fans? No, I know how the world works. He’s a good player, he has a free role to come in off the left. My keeper pulled off a good save from him first half.
“He’s a very good player who I was led to believe was getting sold to Leeds. I don’t know if that’s true but the best players get attention and get sold for millions and millions. I’d like to think that in the future one of my players will be linked with a £20m move. There are a lot of very good players here and he’s one of them.”