Sheffield United have struck gold on incredible star

Sheffield United must look back on their end-of-season form in the Championship and curse their luck with four defeats from five league games in April – whilst Burnley and Leeds United went about their own business flawlessly – resigning the Blades to an unwanted playoff spot.

Remarkably, the South Yorkshire outfit hold a dire hoodoo when it comes to the lottery of the playoffs, with United never winning promotion via this wretched knock-out format from eight attempts.

Chris Wilder will hope he can be the boss in the Bramall Lane dug-out to go against this miserable record, knowing full well that every player at his disposal will need to be at the top of their games across the tense playoff encounters to come for Premier League football to return.

Sheffield United stars who will be key in the playoffs

Despite that collapse at the end of the campaign, Wilder’s men did enjoy a largely successful season at this level after relegation, with a bumper 90 points tallied up in total.

The defence definitely shone all season long at Bramall Lane, with Michael Cooper a standout performer throughout the 46-game marathon when amassing 21 clean sheets. If the going gets tough against Bristol City over two legs, the Blades will hope their ex-Plymouth Argyle stopper can come up trumps.

Moreover, Harrison Burrows found himself in the Championship team of the season in the left-back position, and for good reason, with the former Peterborough United ace picking up a healthy five goals and three assists even as a defender. Can he conjure up a moment of quality against the Robins?

Of course, there are faces such as Tyrese Campbell too who has ten league strikes this season, alongside loan star Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on seven.

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However, there is another favourite among the United fanbase in attack that will be paramount to promotion being sealed, with the explosive forward in question arguably already of a Premier League standard.

The “unbelievable” Blades ace ready for the Premier League

It remains to be seen whether the team’s cream of the crop stick by the club if another playoff slip-up occurs, with Gustavo Hamer already being linked with a switch away, even before a ball has been kicked in the dramatic first leg.

Indeed, the ex-Coventry City midfielder is allegedly on the radar of David Moyes’ Everton, with the Toffees clearly taken aback by the consistent top-drawer displays put in by the 27-year-old in the tough Championship promotion race.

Across this season to date, the Dutchman has picked up a blistering nine goals and seven assists from 41 league encounters, which included a sumptuous free-kick hitting the back of the net back in March to help Wilder’s men down his old employers 3-1.

Hamer has certainly lived up to the shouts that he’s an “unbelievable” talent, as he was lauded by ex-teammate by Oli McBurnie – therefore, with the 27-year-old’s superb attacking exploits not going unnoticed outside of South Yorkshire when he was crowned Championship Player of the Season recently.

Hamer’s record for Sheffield United & Coventry
Season	League	Games	Goals	Assists
24/25	Championship	43	9	7
23/24	Champ/Premier League	38	4	8
22/23	Championship	45	11	10
21/22	Championship	41	3	10
20/21	Championship	44	5	3
Sourced by Transfermarkt

Whilst the table above does further reinforce his reputation as an EFL superstar, it also shows off the Dutchman’s prowess when making the leap up to the top-flight, with Hamer able to pick up a reasonable four goals and seven assists in the elite league during the 2023/24 season, even whilst his team depressingly finished rock bottom of the pile.

Therefore, the United number eight should be ready to jump straight back up to the big time and thrive if given a chance, especially if he is surrounded by some better teammates at Goodison Park than his last venture in the league.

Wilder and Co will just pray that promotion can be reached via the playoffs so Hamer can stay, with his presence in the camp necessary if United want cement themselves as a Premier League capable outfit.