Ruben Selles should consider Gus Hamer U-turn at Sheffield United - it might annoy Aston Villa | OneFootball

Ruben Selles has some big decisions to make at Sheffield United

Sheffield United have suffered a nightmare start to life under Ruben Selles’ management.

The Blades have lost their opening four Championship games; the first time they have achieved such a feat outside of the top-flight since the 1995/96 season.

Just one goal scored in those fixtures hasn’t helped matters, especially when operators such as Tyrese Campbell, Tom Cannon and Danny Ings now make up Selles’ striking department.

The Steel City side look a far cry from the side that pushed Leeds United and Burnley all the way in the promotion fight last term, and if their current form continues, it will be a tall order to fight for the play-offs come May.

Sheffield United’s new manager was eventually backed tremendously in the market, welcoming 14 new additions to Bramall Lane, which puts extra pressure on Selles to get the group performing.

Following the transfer window’s culmination, the Spaniard knows which players he will be able to operate with throughout the rest of the 2025/6 campaign.

It seemed inevitable that Gus Hamer would leave the Blades at some point in the summer, with strong links to PSV and Leeds United remaining until deadline day.

Football League World exclusively revealed that the Dutchman was PSV’s first choice to replace Brentford-bound Joey Veerman. However, neither move materialised, and both players remained where they were.

This provides Selles with an opportunity to make a major change to his system, which could come at the expense of another one of the Blades’ current crop.

Ruben Selles may sacrifice Louie Barry to allow Gus Hamer to shine

Last season saw Hamer awarded the Championship’s Player of the Year prize, which saw him operate out of the left-wing area for large portions of the year under Chris Wilder.

Now with Selles in charge, the Dutchman has been deployed in a holding midfield role, which hasn’t allowed him to impact proceedings as much as he did last term. He hasn't registered a league goal or assist in four outings, after 18 goal involvements last year (10 goals, eight assists). It's a small sample size, but he's averaged just 1.5 shots per 90 this campaign, 1.25 touches in the opposition penalty area. Last year those figures stood at 2.61 and 2.27 respectively, showing the drop-off.

Naturally, the Spaniard may have been resigned to losing Hamer and therefore wouldn’t have wanted him to take minutes off other widemen whom he would’ve been relying on for the rest of the campaign.

However, now that the 28-year-old is remaining at Bramall Lane, Selles could consider moving Hamer back to the left flank into a free role, where he can once again link-up with Harrison Burrows - another of last season's impressive performers yet to hit the same heights.

This may help Sheffield United return to their form of last season, but it would come at the expense of Louie Barry’s development.

The young talent joined the Blades on loan from Aston Villa in the summer and has been Selles’ preferred option thus far on the left wing.

Barry has been unable to match the form he previously displayed at Stockport County, which could be a consequence of Sheffield United’s dreadful start to the season.

It seems like the 22-year-old is still acclimatising to life in the second-tier and, when push comes to shove, Selles may determine that deploying Hamer on the left is the Blades' best bet rather than his former Hull City loanee.

This could be of immense frustration to Villa, who would’ve expected Barry to feature consistently in a team that, on paper, should be fighting towards the top of the table.

Unai Emery and Co. could even consider taking action if their prospect struggles for minutes as the season goes on, with recalling Barry and loaning him to another club not out of the question; they, of course, made a mid-season move for him last year, sending him to Hull after impressing at Stockport.

Ruben Selles will have to make tough decisions to turn Sheffield United around

Although dropping Barry after so few games is arguably unfair on the 22-year-old, Selles has no time to waste.

Turning Sheffield United’s form around will be no easy feat, and time may already be running out for the Spaniard, which means that rolling the dice could be necessary after the international break.

Moving Hamer back to the left flank will no doubt hurt Barry and potentially sour relations with Villa, but Selles would regret not making such a choice if it cost him his job.

Hamer is his best player, and he's not getting anywhere near the levels out of him that Wilder managed. Something has to change, and a position U-turn feels the best bet.