Sheffield United’s Gus Hamer transfer stance after Leeds United interest and Chris Wilder's Sheffield Wednesday financial point
Sheffield United’s transfer stance over key men clarified after Chris Wilder makes Sheffield Wednesday financial point
Sheffield United are looking to keep hold of what manager Chris Wilder calls their “main actors” in the upcoming January transfer window - but the Blades chief is not naive enough to suggest that it can be done at any cost. United are looking to add to their squad when the new year sales begin.
But January will also see key men Gus Hamer and Tyrese Campbell enter the final 18 months of their current deals, a timeframe which typically makes all parties a little twitchy in terms of the future.
Despite a below-par campaign on the whole so far Hamer, the reigning Championship player of the year who recently made his 100th appearance in Blades colours, is expected to be the subject of yet more interest after previously being monitored by Leeds United while Campbell, previously linked with Everton, is already halfway to equalling last term’s 10-goal tally despite also struggling to hit last season’s heights.
Both men and their representatives have been sounded out about potentially extending their spells at Bramall Lane with new deals and United’s next steps will be largely influenced by the response.
For his part Wilder has no desire to see either leave but he is realistic enough to know that the situation could quickly change if the right offer comes along - highlighting the financial struggles recently suffered by their city rivals Wednesday as a cautionary tale.
“I don't know what's going to happen in January,” the Blades chief admitted recently. “I don't think there'll be much action in terms of going out of the building, because of maybe current form and where the players are.
“I'd like to keep all the players that we’ve talked about, and get to a situation where, at the end of the season, we are just adding sort of two or three and keeping our best players. But if that time comes, if somebody comes in with an offer that we can't refuse, we've got to put that to the board and see where we are from that.
Sheffield United’s transfer stance over key men after Chris Wilder makes Sheffield Wednesday financial point
“Because we're not Man City of a few years ago, where we can just chuck money after it, and we have to be sustainable. Because we basically don't want things to go the way things have gone down the road.”
Wednesday were plunged into administration earlier this year to bring to an end Dejphon Chansiri’s tumultuous reign in charge at Hillsborough. Players and staff went unpaid for months, some players handed in their notice to leave and although the Owls are expected to be taken over in the near future, it is a lesson in how financial mismanagement can affect a community.
“That's the last thing that I ever want to do,” Wilder added, “and I've always been consistent with that understanding. I've been at a football club where there were financial issues, and I know how difficult it is. So that is the last thing that we ever want to happen to us as a football club.
“So we have to be sustainable, we have to be smart. We have to deal when we have to deal, we have to buy when we have to buy and we have to try and keep our best players. That's always going to be a big challenge, and we all want to get in the Premier League, don't we?
“There is, I believe, a higher expectation level than there has ever been at our football club over the last 10, 15, 20 years. But I do see us as a top-25 ranked football club in the country. The difficult one is obviously getting into that powerful division, and staying in there.”