Sheffield United play-off defeat reignites Gus Hamer transfer speculation after previous Leeds United approach
The final whistle confirming more play-off pain for Sheffield United had barely left ref Chris Kavanagh’s mouth when speculation about what another season in the Championship means for some of the Blades’ big players began to mount. A 2-1 defeat to Sunderland in injury time cost the Blades promotion to the Premier League, and the fall-out may not end there.
Boss Chris Wilder went on record earlier this season to suggest that United’s hopes of keeping defender Anel Ahmedhodzic at Bramall Lane beyond the summer, when he enters the final 12 months of his Blades deal, may hinge on playing Premier League football next season. It isn’t hard to envisage interest in the likes of midfielder Vini Souza, while Championship player of the year Gus Hamer is certain to be a player in demand again this summer.
Leeds United made a play for the Blades’ star man in the summer, as we revealed at the time, but it was knocked back by their Yorkshire rivals. Automatic promotion to the top-flight may just strengthen Leeds’ hand if they decide to make a return for Hamer this time around, and they are unlikely to be the only ones.
There are also question marks about the future of big-money signing Rhian Brewster, who is out of contract at the end of next month and could have played his last game for the Blades at Wembley. Another big summer in the transfer market beckons for the Blades, with plans in place for each eventuality before Wembley.
Boss Wilder will take some time to lick his wounds before turning his attentions to next season, with speculation about his key men now expected to dominate the summer. “It's going to take quite a while to get over,” he admitted. “But I’m hardened, as a manager who's played the amount of games I've played and managed the amount of games.
“This has not always been a fairytale scenario, career-wise, and you get judged on how you handle these moments. In good moments you have to enjoy then, which Regis and the Sunderland players and supporters will do, and rightly so.
“When there are disappointments and things go against you, you have to own that. If we’d beentighter and smarter and not conceded those poor goals, which is pretty unlike us, it could have been different. We have kept a load of clean sheets and we've defended really well at times, right away through this season.”
Asked specifically about the impact that the result could have on United’s hopes of keeping their best players at Bramall Lane - with Michael Cooper and Harrison Burrows two more players to have enhanced their reputations this season after joining last summer - Wilder replied: “How everything pans out, everything will take care of itself.
“But as you can imagine, I've not thought about futures - personally, or from a player point of view - being an hour and a half after an incredibly low point of everybody's careers, really. The players will be incredibly hurting, the supporters will be, the coaching staff will be. But it is what it is, and we're going to have to deal with it.”
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