Sheffield United and Leeds United are embroiled in a tight battle at the top of the Championship to see who will win the second-tier title in May.
Whenever the Blades win, it appears that the Whites follow suit, resulting in a thrilling battle at the top of the league.
Regardless of the South Yorkshire side’s frequent second-place finish behind Leeds, Chris Wilder will be satisfied with what he sees right now, as certain crucial players continue to stand out.
Sheffield United’s best performers in 2024/25
Wilder will be pleased with Harrison Burrows, an ex-Peterborough United player who has recently found his shooting form despite often playing as a defender. He scored three goals recently, including a brace against Norwich and a confident penalty in Wales.
Aside from the notable number 14, Gustavo Hamer is unquestionably a key figure this season, having scored a handful of goals.
Wilder’s decision to use Hamer down the left channel rather than in a more central spot has proven to be a masterstroke, as he has 11 league goals from 27 appearances.
With fresh acquisitions like Ben Brereton Diaz, who will improve United’s attack, everything is looking good at Bramall Lane for an immediate return to the Premier League, despite Leeds’ unwanted presence.
The Chilean’s arrival, combined with the signing of in-demand striker Tom Cannon from Leicester City, will scare one member of the team in particular.
The Sheffield United star who could suffer from Brereton & Cannon signing
While Burrows and Hamer were able to strike the ground running as new players, Rhian Brewster struggled to adjust to his new surroundings after joining the then-Premier League club in 2020.
The ridiculous £23.5 million price tag placed above his head didn’t help matters either, with the pressure to live up to that high price proving too much, as Brewster failed to register a single league goal in his debut season in South Yorkshire.
United would have simply hoped that taking a chance on the raw youngster would pay off, with Brewster scoring 13 goals and assisting ten times for the Reds at U21 level before his car-crash move to Bramall Lane.
However, since those goal-laden days in Liverpool’s youth divisions, the 24-year-old has had a nightmare, with injury after injury and blank periods in front of goal becoming all too typical.
| Brewster at Sheffield United | |
|---|---|
| Stat | Brewster |
| Games played | 103 |
| Goals scored | 7 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Games missed through injury | 99 |
| Transfer cost | £30m |
| Wage | £35k-per-week |
| Wage costs over a year | £1.8m |
| Sourced by Transfermarkt/Capology | |
The table above makes for depressing reading, with Brewster scoring only seven goals in 103 total Blades games, among other troubling statistics.
With his questionable injury record, which includes missing 99 games due to reoccurring hamstring issues, United may be wise to part ways with the dud soon, as his current deal expires in June.
Brewster’s salary of £35k per week exceeds that of Hamer and Burrows, who earn £30k and £12.5k per week, respectively. Despite a recent resurgence with a goal against Swans, United may prefer to bring in new players.
Leave a Reply