Football Season Guide

Chris Wilder’s second spell as Sheffield United manager ultimately ended in heartbreak and failure, losing the play-off final to Sunderland. The decision to sack the boyhood Blade may look a harsh one, given that he amassed 90 points in the regular season and was only ousted from automatic promotion by centurions Leeds and Burnley, but Wilder was in the driving seat so close to the end. United were top of the table going into the final month when a disastrous run of four defeats from five matches derailed their season. Wilder was seen as a safe pair of hands, but his replacement is much more of a gamble. Rubén Sellés did briefly manage in the Premier League as caretaker boss of Southampton but the club were relegated under his watch. Despite a successful spell in League One at Reading and keeping Hull City in the Championship last season, this is his first big job as a permanent head coach, so the pressure is on. Sellés still has a very strong squad to work with at this point. Michael Cooper is arguably the best goalkeeper in the league and has a solid defence in front of him. Gus Hamer was named Championship Player of the Season in 2024/25, so keeping him will be imperative. Key midfielder Vini Souza has been the biggest loss of the summer transfer window so far, but Sydie Peck and Oli Arblaster are two of the league’s most talented youngsters in that position. The striker position may be the biggest issue. Tyrese Campbell was top scorer last season with just 11 goals and Tom Cannon failed to hit the ground running after arriving for big money in January. The Irishman still has time to prove that he isn’t a complete flop. The club haven’t done much significant business in the market so far. Exciting young winger Louie Barry has been their most notable signing, on loan from Aston Villa, having previously worked under Sellés. He will help fill the gap left by the likes of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Ben Brereton Diaz who have rejoined their parent-clubs. Ehije Ukaki and Mihail Polendakov are two unproven youngsters from the Bulgarian league that aren’t likely to make the difference needed to achieve promotion.