Chris Wilder comments highlight the importance of Sheffield United transfer mission this summer
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder will be determined to increase the level of internal competition at Bramall Lane in this summer’s transfer window.
With 55 Championship appearances on his CV prior to joining Sheffield United on loan in this year’s January transfer window, Ki-Jana Hoever, on paper at least, looked like a solid signing.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers right-back, who joined the Molineux outfit from Liverpool in September 2020, had enjoyed two successful loan spells in the Championship with Stoke City in 2022/23 and 2023/24 respectively.
Scoring four goals in both loan spells at the bet365 Stadium, the former Netherlands youth international was poised to add some attacking intent alongside healthy competition for Femi Seriki, who had not been pushed hard enough by Ben Godfrey in the first half of the campaign.
Godfrey joined United on loan from Atalanta last August, signing on loan for the duration of the 2025/26 season. Bringing a versatile profile to S2 amid his ability to play at both right-back and centre-back, he looked like a decent signing on paper.
However, his loan was terminated in January after making just four appearances for the Blades. Of those four outings, only one of them was under Chris Wilder, who returned to the club in September following the sudden departure of Rubén Sellés.
Hoever was recruited in place of Godfrey and it looked as though Seriki was going to get the level of competition he needed to take his game to the next level. Although the former Bury youngster is United’s chief right-back, Wilder wants every player to be forced to fight for their place in the team.
"We want to get into a rhythm and players have got an opportunity to really crack on with the competition behind them,” Wilder admitted, speaking back in February. “I wouldn't be frightened if I was a player and the players shouldn't be frightened of competition.
"This is a club with an expectancy level. It fell well short early on in the season, we've been up and down in my period (since returning in September). Now players have to show that consistency and fight to get into the team.
"We're a top-25 club in English football and we have to have competition for places. I thank the owners and Steve Bettis for allowing me to bring winners in and raise the bar."
Although Hoever showed flashes of his capabilities, he did not do it often enough, meaning Seriki remained at the top of United’s right-back pecking order without an awful lot of debate. Hoever, who has now returned to Wolves and could line up against United in the Championship next season, made 16 appearances during his time at Bramall Lane, but ten of them were as a substitute.
Strengthening the right-back berth is one of Wilder’s leading objectives in this summer’s transfer window. The window will open for business on June 15 and United supporters are hopeful there will be a steady stream of new arrivals after an underwhelming 2025/26 campaign.
United are particularly thin on the ground at centre-back, meaning plenty of work is required in that department, but the importance of recruiting another right-back to give Seriki a healthy level of competition cannot be understated.
Hoever, as already documented, showed glimpses of what he is all about, and there is a player in there, but he was not consistent enough to push Seriki and leapfrog him in the pecking order. The 24-year-old needs a competitor who will fight him for the starting shirt every week.
On the opposite side of the back-four, Wilder can rely on Sam McCallum and Harrison Burrows to push each other in pursuit of the left-back berth. That is exactly what happened this season prior to McCallum suffering a season-ending ankle injury away at Millwall at the very end of January.
With Wilder eager to generate competition for places, the addition of a right-back this summer, even though Seriki is still expected to remain a starting XI player next term, is paramount.