Harrison Burrows West Ham United transfer talk highlights one Sheffield United strength that must be protected
West Ham's reported interest in Harrison Burrows is understandable, but the left-back and Sam McCallum have already created exactly the sort of healthy competition Chris Wilder wants to replicate across his Sheffield United squad.
Chris Wilder did not even wait until the end of last season before outlining what Sheffield United needed to add before the next one kicked off. More experience. More consistency. More competition for places.
The areas of focus are obvious; centre-half. Right-back. Initially left wing, before Andre Brooks’ departure to Norwich City saw reinforcements on the right become a priority. Some sections of Wilder’s squad are much stronger; in one in particular, he has exactly what he is striving to assemble everywhere else.
Which is why the growing speculation surrounding Harrison Burrows’ Bramall Lane future is particularly important. West Ham have long been whispered as potential suitors for the left-back, and they certainly have the cash to test United’s resolve.
Football is football. Every player has a price and, if somebody eventually decides to pay it, then difficult decisions have to be made. But selling Burrows would not just rob Wilder of another key player; it would also break up one of the healthiest battles for a starting place in his squad.
The battle for the left-back spot last season was a fierce one, at least until Sam McCallum’s untimely injury at Millwall that ended his campaign. Both were in possession of the shirt for various parts of the campaign and there was little to choose between them.
Whoever started one week knew there was another Championship-quality left-back waiting for an opportunity the next. Neither would have enjoyed spending time on the substitutes' bench, but there was never any sense of the rivalry becoming destructive. If anything, it had the opposite effect.
"It's always good between me and H," McCallum told The Star after making his comeback in Saturday’s friendly win at FC Halifax Town. "We're quite close. Obviously there's the battle for the left-back spot but when he's been in, he's been outstanding.
“And I'd like to think likewise with me. It's good competition, it's healthy competition and, like you said, the manager just wants that all over the pitch. He wants everyone fighting for positions, pushing standards and raising the level."
That last sentence could almost be Wilder's transfer strategy summed up in one quote. The focus is on quality rather than quantity; players to raise standards rather than just the numbers. "When I've got the shirt, Harrison's hot on my heels," McCallum added.
“And when Harrison is in the team, obviously I'm not happy about it either. But it’s because he's earned his spot or I've lost it, and vice versa. When I'm back in the team, it's either something he's done or something that I've done well in training or to impress when I've come on as a sub."
That is exactly the environment Wilder is trying to build across the pitch this summer. If an offer eventually arrives that is simply too good to refuse then United may have little choice but to cash in.
But if there is a way of keeping Burrows at Bramall Lane, Wilder would retain one of the few positions where he already has the fierce, healthy competition he wants to replicate across the rest of his squad.
The challenge this summer is to build more battles like Burrows versus McCallum, not fewer.