Despite Daniel Farke’s Leeds United coasting to many a victory in the Championship as of late, the Whites head into their big promotion clash tonight with Sunderland not perched at the summit of the difficult division.
Instead, Sheffield United are currently sat there admiring the view from top spot, having picked up a mammoth 22 wins themselves in league action, as Chris Wilder‘s men eye up an instant glorious return back to the Premier League.
Looking back at their business before a ball was kicked gives you some insight as to how the top-flight’s basement club from the 2023/24 season have managed to bounce back so successfully, rather than being stuck inside that bleak pit.
United’s best summer business
Back in the summer, before splashing £10m on new striker Tom Cannon, the South Yorkshire outfit went about their business in a rather shrewd manner.
Indeed, seven of United’s purchases before the hectic second-tier season got underway were either free transfers or loan signings, with both Callum O’Hare and Tyrese Campbell entering the building strokes of genius as EFL experienced heads.
The pair have amassed eight goals between them, surrounded by the likes of fellow attacking talent in the form of Crystal Palace loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who has six league strikes all on his own.
Away from bodies entering the building, the Blades also did a fantastic job in keeping some of the standout personnel from their Premier League journey, with Anel Ahmedhodzic an absolute brute at the back dropping down a level.
Helping himself to 12 clean sheets, he has made the Blades an extremely tough team to break down, with the man behind him in-between the sticks another sterling purchase that did cost United a fee, but has already made that amount look worthwhile.
Michael Cooper’s soaring value
A brand new goalkeeper was arguably a must for Wilder and Co when dropping back down to the unforgiving second tier, having leaked a horrendous 104 goals in the top flight.
That’s where former Plymouth Argyle shot-stopper Michael Cooper has come to the rescue, with the 25-year-old now going down as a top £2m find from Devon.
Having made a name for himself at his boyhood employers with 55 clean sheets picked up from 161 appearances, the promotion-chasing Blades gambled on Cooper to be their Championship-ready ‘keeper and that decision has more than paid off with stunning saves such as this penalty stop back in November becoming commonplace.
Across 31 contests in South Yorkshire to date, Cooper has only shipped 21 strikes, with only two goals surrendered all of February so far as his high-flying team hunt down more and more pivotal victories.
Subsequently, his value has shot up and has justified United paying a fee to land the former League One Golden Glove winner, knowing full well that his continued excellence could be the difference-maker between automatic promotion being clinched and a playoff spot having to be regretfully accepted.
At the time of writing, Wilder’s assured number one in goal now has a bumped up value that stands at £5.8m – as per Transfermarkt – with the Exeter-born ‘keeper now wanting the prize of being a Premier League calibre shot-stopper to come his way.
|
Cooper’s league numbers (24/25) |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Cooper |
|
Games played |
31 |
|
Goals conceded |
21 |
|
Saves made |
78 |
|
Goals prevented |
+6.00 |
|
Clean sheets |
17 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
That is a percentage increase of 190% in just a few months, with Wilder even labelling his standout 25-year-old as “class” earlier in the season, which is hard to argue against when looking up at his gleaming second-tier numbers.
Away from Cooper being put under the microscope, the experienced Blades boss will know a full team effort will get this confident group over the line, with this potentially being his third promotion achievement situated in the Bramall Lane dug-out.
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