Chris Wilder issues fresh contract update on Sheffield United stars - £15m ace mentioned | OneFootball

The Blades boss is hoping to keep several of his key creative outlets in S2

Sheffield United's Championship season can certainly be split into two parts, with the Steel City side certainly returning to a stable nature under the management of boyhood Blade, Chris Wilder.

The 58-year-old has seen it all at Bramall Lane throughout what is now three separate managerial stints at the club which his affiliation is well-known for, and he will still believe there is a chance United could end a two-season exile from the Premier League at the end of the current second tier season.

After starting the campaign under the management of Ruben Selles, who was brought in as an initial long-term replacement for Wilder by the club's American ownership group, COH Sports, the Sheffield native was swiftly reappointed after just six matches of the season in all competitions, after the Blades had lost each and every encounter under the Spaniard.

Since then, they have been able to firmly steer themselves away from a potentially disastrous season of fighting off a potential first relegation to League One for nine years, and still hold a slim chance of reaching the play-offs for a second successive term due to the highly-congested nature of the Championship table as we head towards the run-in despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Coventry City on Wednesday night.

Whilst the chance of completing a remarkable swift turnaround in fortunes in S2 will clearly be Wilder's priority, it is fair to say that transfer speculation has never been too far away from the United squad in recent times, and that proved to be the case throughout the recently-shut winter transfer window.

Although it remains to be seen which division the Blades will be playing their football in at the start of next season at present, it is clear and understandable that the man in the dugout hopes to keep several of his key attacking performers at Bramall Lane for years to come, in moves which could put a stop to constant talks over their immediate and long-term futures.

Chris Wilder drops Sheffield United contract update on attacking quartet involving Gus Hamer

Wilder told The Star that talks are very much ongoing with Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks after the duo became the subject of interest from clubs such as Everton and Club Brugge last month, before neither deal materialised.

“No, it's on,” said Wilder. “The owners are over in the next couple of days so we've got positive meetings, I should imagine, with them regarding what we talked about.

“We’ve got a lot going for us and top of the list is looking after and protecting ourselves with two great prospects. They have got an option in there but we shouldn't run it down or allow it to, and I'm sure there will be discussions on Wednesday to see where we are in terms of definitely extending those boys' contracts," he explained.

He also referenced the situations involving Hamer and Tyrese Campbell, with last year's Championship Player of the Season, in particular, continuing to attract interest amid talk of a switch to Trabzonspor last month.

Hamer was signed from Coventry for £15m in August 2023 on a four-year contract, which is set to expire next summer.

“Tyrese and Gus are in a different situation, in terms of where their careers are," the Blades boss added.

“But I want to keep my best players. I want to keep Gus. He's been outstanding. I'm sure there's another big performance in Gus on Wednesday night and Callum (O'Hare).

“There has been previously and I'm sure he'll know that he'll need to be at his best, and so will Callum. But yeah, we want to keep Gus and we want to keep Ty. They're a big part of what we're doing.

“But always, as we've talked about, their approach and their representatives' approach has to be respected. Where they see their future has to be respected as well, and then obviously we'll see how that evolves," Wilder stated.

Chris Wilder's stance on key Sheffield United quartet is understandable amid contract talk

It is no surprise that Wilder has the aforementioned stance on his key attacking quartet, although it remains to be seen how the planned contract talks play out.

Hamer, of course, will be the main player in focus in this particular predicament, with the playmaker becoming an influential figure at Bramall Lane in his two-and-a-half year spell thus far, which has seen him attract many suitors.

As such, the only way which the Blades may be able to retain his services is by breaking their play-off curse at the end of this season, which could still happen in theory, although there is now a nine-point gap to make up with 12 matches of the season still to be played.