Sheffield United’s 2025/2026 campaign is almost at a finish, with just three matches left against Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and Derby County.
A season of highs and lows, this campaign has been a rollercoaster for the Blades.
From being rock of bottom of the EFL Championship, to having late hopes of a play-off finish, United currently sit in 12th with promotion now mathematically impossible.
However, it’s not been all bad for Chris Wilder’s men, so let’s look at the campaign as whole and see who excelled this year and who struggled.
Sheffield United’s best player has, once again, been Gustavo Hamer.
The Dutch midfielder has the highest average match rating, according to FotMob, 17 goal contributions, including eleven assists, the highest at the club.
While it may be a slight step down from last season, where he was named Championship player of the season, he has still excelled throughout the season.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Blades have to hold off even more interest from Premier League sides over the summer.
Sheffield United have had a large selection of young players at their disposal, from the consistent Sydie Peck to the electric Andre Brooks.
However, none have been as impressive as the loanee defender Tyler Bindon.
Bindon has formed a strong partnership at the back with Japhet Tanganga in his 25 appearances.
It’s no surprise that Chris Wilder is interested in bringing him to Bramall Lane permanently next season.
Blades fans would certainly be happy if the 21-year-old is one of the first names on the team sheet next season.
The Blades have made some excellent recruitment this season, with some standouts being Jairo Riedewald and Japhet Tanganga.
However none come close to Patrick Bamford, who was brought in for free in Novemeber.
Bamford is currently the Blades’ top goal scorer with eleven goals in 25 appearances.
The only complaint Blades’ fans will have is that Chris Wilder didn’t recruit the 32-year-old sooner.
When Sheffield United brought in Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City, there certainly was a lot of hype for what the former England international could bring.
However, it certainly hasn’t worked out as expected, with Phillips only making three appearances for United.
The lowest moment came when he was sent off in the steel city derby against Sheffield Wednesday, in what turned out to be his last game under Chris Wilder.
While it may be controversial to say, Harrison Burrows has not had the best season of his career, and has certainly not lived up to the expectations he has set for himself.
The left back has only registered eight goal contributions, compared to his 12 last season.
Burrows has also been under pressure for his position from Sam McCallum, who momentarily displaced him earlier in the season.
Whilst he may not have been a consistent starter for the Blades, Mark McGuiness has certainly been a great defensive option for Wilder.
The Irishman has made 23 appearances this season and has played the majority of the last three, all with match rating above a 7 according to FotMob.
Blades fans will be hopeful McGuinness gets more chances to shine next season in the United backline.
It doesn’t get any better for Sheffield United than being able to send your bitter rivals down the League One.
Whilst it was already likely with Wednesday’s point deduction, their relegation was officially confirmed with a 2-1 loss at Bramall Lane.
Goals from Harrison Burrows and Patrick Bamford sent the Owls down, as well as making it two seasons in a row that United did the double over their city rivals.
Whilst Sheffield United have been on a steady upwards trajectory for a while, it wasn’t long ago that relegation looked imminent.
Under Ruben Selles, the Blades were winless after the first five games of the season and sat rock bottom of the table.
It wasn’t until Selles departed the club and Chris Wilder was brought back in that the Blades started to climb out of the relegation zone.
Ultimately, this season has been a mixed bag for the Blades.
Whilst the start of the season was disastrous, United have improved their performances as the season has gone on.
Blades fans will ultimately look at the beginning of the campaign and wonder if they had started better, would they be closer to the playoffs.
However, the season still holds a lot of promise for them, and next season may be a different story.
