Sheffield United: Blades' spirit and togetherness can be key for Blades in Premier League recruitment, says Bramall Lane old boy

Sheffield United’s carefully-crafted team spirit and togetherness will be an asset when it comes to attracting players for their Premier League adventure, according to former Bramall Lane favourite Kevin Gage.

The former United full-back, an old teammate of Wilder from their time together with the Blades, also believes Wilder’s men are on the verge of ‘something special’ after winning automatic promotion from the Championship last season.

United have been linked with the likes of Brentford’s Neal Maupay and Oliver McBurnie, of Swansea, while Wilder may also reignite his interest in QPR attacking midfielder Luke Freeman.“With two or three quality additions we could definitely have an impact next season,” Gage said, in his latest column for The Star.

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“We’ll have to battle hard to get these in-demand players and potential signings to the club as money talks and we won’t be offering the highest wages I’m sure.

“You’d hope that players will be aware of the team spirit, camaraderie and togetherness of this squad and think to themselves ‘I want to be a part of that’.

“It’s a short career and yes, you want to earn good wages, but players also want to feel at home and enjoy going in to work too.

“The absolute key person in all of this excitement and speculation about the coming season is our manager. He certainly does lead from the front and sets the tone to create that wonderful sense of togetherness both in the dressing room and in the stands.”

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George Baldock, the United right-back, has been linked with a move to Celtic while goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who spent last season on loan at Bramall Lane from Manchester United, is another target of Wilder’s ahead of the start of the Premier League season on August 10.

“It could be argued that our style of play actually suits the more composed, possession-based style practised by most of the Premier League teams,” Gage added.

“Our defence last season was rock-solid and we built our success from that firm foundation, and if we can re-sign Henderson it will be a huge boost for everyone at the club, both on and off the pitch.

“With regard to our playing strength, I think we have at the very least half a dozen players in our current team who have the ability to comfortably make the step up to the top level and perform there week in week out, plus another few players who could ‘do a job’ for us, as and when required.”

Follow him on Twitter: @gageykev

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