Gustavo Hamer to leave Sheffield United? Chris Wilder drops bombshell amid £6m transfer claim
Surprise transfer links to Sheffield United star Gustavo Hamer emerged earlier this week – and Chris Wilder has now revealed that the door hasn’t been closed on the mercurial Dutchman departing Bramall Lane before the February 2 deadline.
The Blades have struggled in the Championship compared to their exploits of 2024-25, in which they were one of the three runaway teams of the division alongside Leeds United and Burnley, yet didn’t secure an automatic promotion spot with their 90-point haul.
Losing out on a Premier League return through the play-offs instead, United’s owners COH Sports’ decision to sack Wilder and replace him with Rubén Sellés is still seeing them play catch up to their rivals after they ended up sacking the Spaniard in favour of a third managerial stint at the club for Wilder.
Currently 16th in the Championship table and nine points off the top six, United still have a chance if they get their January dealings right – but no-one would have expected last year’s star player for the entire division to be potentially up for grabs.
Gustavo Hamer transfer claim dropped by Chris Wilder – could Bramall Lane exit now happen?
As reported by Ben Jacobs on January 13, it was claimed that Gustavo Hamer – despite winning the Championship’s Player of the Season for 2024-25 – could leave Sheffield United before the end of the transfer window, with the club willing to cash in for as little as £6 million.
That is despite signing him from Coventry City two-and-a-half years ago whilst a Premier League club for £15 million, so it would represent a significant loss for the South Yorkshire outfit, with Sevilla, Cremonese and Trabzonspor all linked with the 28-year-old.
Unlike last season, where his 10 goals and eight assists in the second tier were crucial to the club’s success, Hamer’s influence hasn’t been as notable in 2025-26. Following a slow start to the campaign where he was moved back into a midfield position by Sellés as opposed to his left-wing utilisation under Wilder, plus an injury ruling him out for a number of weeks, it took the Dutchman until November to score his first goal of the season.
Dropped though after the 5-3 defeat away at Wrexham, Hamer found himself as an unused substitute away at Stoke City, but he played the final 14 minutes of a home win over Leicester City – six points were picked up in those two matches without him starting, which has left some wondering if he fits into Wilder’s best 11.
And for the first time, Wilder has seemingly inferred that Hamer could potentially depart Bramall Lane before the transfer deadline in two-and-a-half weeks, after talks between the hierarchy and the midfielder’s agent.
“There’s been a discussion between Carl Shieber [United’s head of football administration] and his agent. So I’ve not really got involved in that,” Wilder told the Sheffield Star.
.“I think they’ve opened it up. But it’s left with them to see what the approach or enthusiasm from Gus is, and what his ambitions are, and where he sees his future as well.
“The most important thing is that he looks after the football, and he produces performances.
“He puts himself in a good position, whether it’s here or whether his future’s elsewhere, and that’s always a massive thing.
“I want to keep my best players in the building understanding as well that if somebody doesn’t want to be here, then that’s a different situation.
“And if somebody wants to purchase him for a price that the club feel is acceptable and worthwhile, then a deal’s done. We want our best players. We want to build a good squad. And the squad’s looking better, in a lot of ways, than it did when we first walked in the door.”
Gustavo Hamer may not be missed too much at Sheffield United if he leaves
There’s no doubting how good Hamer was for United last season, but his influenced has wained since then – perhaps he was expecting to be a Premier League player once more with the Blades.
Sellés’ decision to move Hamer back into the middle of the park in a midfield three – taking him away from his creative freedom out on the left flank that Wilder handed to him – was somewhat of a disaster, and it took a run of substitute appearances after recovering from injury upon the 58-year-old’s return to the Bramall Lane dugout for the Dutchman to get back into the starting 11.
United have looked better in the 4-4-2 formation this season though, and Callum O’Hare has also made far more of an impact than Hamer has, and only one of the two can fit into the starting 11 on the left – on current form, that has to be United’s number 10.
Therefore, cashing in on Hamer when he’s got a year-and-a-half left on his contract might actually be the wisest thing to do here for Sheffield United – perhaps not for as low as £6 million though, as that would seem shockingly low for a player of his ability.
