⚔️ The Shoreham Journal - Ruben Selles faces the music, fixtures announced
The new manager has spoken to the press... 🗞️
Hello and welcome to The Shoreham Journal, a free newsletter all about Sheffield United Football Club. In today’s edition, we round up Ruben Selles’ chat with the media and the latest news on the Blades.
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Selles sets out his stall 🗣️
Ruben Selles has spoken to the national media for the first time since becoming Sheffield United’s new boss.
The former Southampton, Reading, and Hull manager faces an almighty challenge at Bramall Lane in replacing Chris Wilder, undoubtedly one of United’s greatest ever managers. Selles will be expected to, at the very least, challenge for promotion during the upcoming season.
The new boss thanked United fans for their “warm welcome” and expressed his excitement at getting the players back “on the grass” for pre-season. He also described AI as “a support [tool] we will use” in an attempt to downplay the club’s much-talked-about data-driven recruitment model, confirming traditional recruitment methods will still be used.
One of the biggest talking points hovering over United is Gus Hamer's future. The 28-year-old midfielder is expected to be in demand this summer after being named the Championship Player of the Season.
Leeds and Everton are both thought to be interested in Hamer, who still has two years left on his contract after arriving from Coventry in 2023. Even if he does leave Bramall Lane this summer, United should make a profit on their £15 million investment.
While speaking to Sky Sports, Selles did express his desire to keep hold of Hamer… but it wasn’t a confident response.
He said: “He's a Sheffield United player, and I want him to be a Sheffield United player when the market closes. Obviously, I can't control what happens in the future because the market is so fluid and dynamic, but my intention is to keep him as one of our players. He's worked really hard for us and for the team, and if we can keep him, that will mean we will be in a really powerful place to achieve our targets."
It could be argued that, as the club’s manager, he should be able to “control” a player’s future. Yet that’s not how modern football works. If United get a big offer for Hamer, maybe upwards of £25 million, he could be off.
Selles hinted at a quiet transfer window, describing the squad as “very powerful” and showing little interest in signing players for the sake of it. He’s also keen on making the most of the loan market.
Selles said: “We need to try to identify the players who can potentially support us and get some extra levels in terms of quality. We don't want to just add numbers, or we don't want to rush in our decisions. We have to assess what we have and then look at exactly what we need.”
In fairness to Selles, rebuilding a squad that won 92 points last season and lost in the play-off final would be foolish. The Blades are in a good place, and if they can be as “proactive” and “aggressive” as Selles urged them to be in an interview with BBC Radio Sheffield, they should be pushing for promotion again this coming season.
Easing into it 📆
United’s fixtures for the 2025-26 Championship season have been announced, and, relatively speaking, Selles is not in for a tough start.
The Blades will play Bristol City at Bramall Lane in their opener on Saturday, August 9. Unsurprisingly, the game will be shown live on Sky Sports Football, meaning it won’t kick off until 5:30pm.
A trip to Swansea follows before a clash with Millwall at Bramall Lane. An away day at Middlesbrough rounds off August, with more challenging games against Ipswich and Southampton to come in September.
United don’t need to worry about playing Sheffield Wednesday for a while; the first Steel City derby, at Hillsborough, is scheduled for the end of November. The Bramall Lane game will take place in February.
United’s final match of the season will be against Derby at 12:30pm on Saturday, May 2. The Blades have also discovered their opponents in the League Cup, with a trip to Birmingham on Tuesday, August 12, scheduled.
Check out United’s website for the full fixture list.
In other news 🗞️
👀 The Blades are interested in signing Liverpool duo Lewis Koumas and Owen Beck, according to the Daily Mail. Koumas, the 19-year-old winger and son of ex-Premier League star Jason, completed a loan spell at Stoke last season but managed just three goals and two assists in 43 league games.
⚽️ As for Beck, United could face stiff competition from newly promoted Wrexham for the 22-year-old. It’s believed other teams in England and Scotland are also keen on a loan move for the left-back, who made 24 Championship appearances while on loan at Blackburn last season.
The Shoreham Journal says... United will likely need to dip into the loan market this summer, even if it means developing players from rival clubs. Neither Koumas nor Beck set the Championship alight last season, but they could fare better this time round with more experience under their belt.
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🗣️ As reported in the previous edition of The Shoreham Journal, the Blades are being linked with Steven Alzate, who played under Selles at Hull last season. Speaking to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman described Alzate as a player who could strengthen United’s squad, rather than take Vini Souza’s place in the starting XI.
Goodman said: “Managers tend to like players they worked with before or ones they tend to think are reliable and consistent. I think he (Alzate) probably falls into that category. In terms of replacing Vini Souza, I think if I’m Sheffield United, I’m doing everything you can to keep Vini Souza, and maybe adding Steven Alzate to strengthen it.”
🔥 The Blades are on the verge of signing Cole Hay from Hamilton, according to the Daily Record’s live transfer blog. The 16-year-old winger has represented Scotland at youth level and spent time training at Shirecliffe in recent months. United have done business with Hamilton before, snapping up Ryan One from the Scottish club two years ago.