Sheffield United must wish £16.9m ace never left

Sheffield United go into tomorrow night’s Championship clash with Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough aiming to make it three league wins on the trot.

They will pray that is the final outcome with the points gap between themselves and Leeds United potentially extending even more if a loss or a draw were to take place, owing to the fact the Whites play later today before the Blades’ Wednesday night test.

The South Yorkshire outfit will have to solely focus on their own promotion efforts instead of getting carried away by Daniel Farke’s table-toppers though, with Wilder needing all of his top players to be singing off the same hymn sheet between now and May to instantly return to the Premier League.

The numbers behind Sheffield United’s top performers

Whilst the winter transfer window has dominated much of the recent conversation, with Tom Cannon entering the building for £10m a notable purchase, there are plenty of faces that have been at the club all season long that warrant equal amounts of adoration.

Indeed, Gustavo Hamer is one that immediately springs to mind as a skilful performer for the level, with a strike last time out against Portsmouth helping his side pick up a narrow 2-1 victory.

That took his goal total for the season up to a bumper seven, with an additional five assists in Championship action this season further reinforcing his crucial presence in Wilder’s starting XIs.

Hamer is the club’s top scorer for the campaign after all – if you remove Cannon’s nine goals from the equation out on loan with Stoke – with Tyrese Campbell then the next deadliest attacker in the ranks.

United have seemingly struck gold on the injury-prone forward, with the ex-Potters ace up to six goals for his new employers from just nine league starts, having only fired home three league goals all of last campaign when struggling with injuries.

But, whilst Wilder will be pleased with the likes of Hamer and Campbell trying to guide his side back to the Premier League, there is a former star already at the elite level who is outscoring both Blades first-teamers.

The ex-Sheffield United ace outscoring Hamer and Campbell

The promotion-chasers have waved goodbye to a whole host of promising talents over the years that have then gone on to be top-flight regulars, with Aaron Ramsdale once the United first-team goalkeeper before embarking on a move to Arsenal.

Iliman Ndiaye also falls into this bracket, with the tricky Senegal international initially making a name for himself at Bramall Lane after a dizzy rise all the way up from the depths of non-league to the Championship.

His immense trickery on the ball – which saw him net some spectacular strikes such as a solo effort versus Fulham – would result in him becoming an instant fan’s favourite in South Yorkshire, with his sublime efforts during the 2022/23 season steering his side to automatic promotion.

Indeed, Ndiaye would bow out from that standout campaign with a blistering 15 goals and 12 assists tallied up in all competitions, but he ultimately wouldn’t enter the top flight with the Blades as French giants Olympique de Marseille swooped in to steal his services.

He has since made a return to the English game with Everton, after a flat one-season stint out in France, with his goalscoring numbers for the Toffees this campaign coming in at eight to better both Hamer and Campbell rooted back at Bramall Lane.

Football pundit Jamie Redknapp has even labelled the £16.9m summer arrival as a “dynamite” player off the back of his explosive showings, as David Moyes hopes that the goals keep flowing from his number ten to keep his team way above the dreaded relegation zone.

United will hope they possess enough in their locker to jump up to the top tier, on the contrary, as a whirlwind next few months begin to feel very real for Wilder and Co.