Exclusive: Leeds Target Blades Duo Gus Hamer and Michael Cooper in Promotion-Linked Swoop

Leeds United will swoop for Sheffield United duo Gustavo Hamer and Michael Cooper if Chris Wilder’s side fail to join them in the Premier League next season.

The pair, who both won medals at Bramall Lane’s end-of-season awards ceremony last weekend, are being tracked by scouts acting on Daniel Farke’s behalf according to sources in West Yorkshire.

With Leeds and Burnley pipping The Blades to automatic promotion - condemning Wilder’s men to the play-offs - the German will instruct his employers to submit official bids if their rivals are unable to secure a place in the top-flight themselves. 

Under contract until 2028, acquiring Cooper is likely to prove a tough ask for Leeds even if Wilder’s men stumble in the end-of-term knockouts. 

But Hamer is set to become a free agent a year later, meaning he could be more attainable should The Blades remain in the second tier.

Leeds tried to sign the attacking midfielder, who is set to start Thursday’s semi-final first leg against Bristol City, last summer. 

KEY FIGURE

However, with Wilder identifying Hamer as a key figure in the rebuilding process he instigated following The Blades’ relegation back to the Championship, Farke’s overtures were rebuffed.

Leeds have retained a watching brief on his progress ever since and believe the former Coventry City star would be the ideal fit for one of the key positions Farke wants to strengthen ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

The Blades travel to Ashton Gate on Thursday before hosting the return fixture on Monday. Should they progress, Wilder’s squad will then meet either Coventry or Sunderland at Wembley Stadium with the winner securing a place among English football’s elite.

Hamer, aged 27, has scored 11 goals in 66 appearances since leaving the CBS Arena in 2023. Cooper, two years Hamer’s junior, has been a virtual ever present between the posts after departing Plymouth Argyle.