In the midst of a god awful season there has been next to nothing to write home about for Sheffield United. Other than the emergence of academy product Oli Arblaster, who took to the Premier League like a duck to water, and of course his midfield partner Gustavo Hamer.
However, with the two midfielders performing to a decent Premier League standard down the stretch this has alerted plenty of teams around Europe’s top flights. And according to Ugurhan Turker, a Turkish reporter, Galatasaray are closely following Hamer.
The Turkish giants won the top flight in the campaign that’s just ended with an astonishing 102 points. Galatasaray also finished third in their Champions League and as a result dropped into the Europa League before crashing out of Europe altogether following a 6-4 aggregate defeat to Sparta Praha.
Of course if the reports are true and Galatasaray come calling for Hamer’s services then it will be extremely difficult for United’s number eight to not have his head turned given an increase in wages and a chance to play in the Champions League.
Will Gustavo Hamer still be a Sheffield United player next season?
Hamer will likely be linked with a number of clubs around Europe this summer due to his standout abilities which he displayed in his debut Premier League campaign. And rightly so; although he was in the division’s worst team he showed flashes of brilliance and it felt as though he carried Sheffield United offensively.
The 26-year-old ended his first Premier League season with a more than respectable four goals and six assists to his name. But it’s his performance metrics that stand out to me, and likely to teams across Europe as well.
Hamer’s stats from his first Premier League season
Across Europe’s “Big Five” and UEFA competitions Gustavo Hamer ranks incredibly high in several attacking statistics when comparing to other midfielders.
According to FBref data, the Dutch midfielder ranks in the 85th percentile for both assists per 90 and shot-creating actions per 90 – averaging almost four shot-creating actions per 90.
Additionally, Hamer ranks in the 80th percentile for total shots per 90 and he ranks in the 83rd percentile for non-penalty expected goals plus expected assisted goals – in other words he finds himself in high quality scoring positions while also carving out quality chances for his teammates.
What I always find fascinating about Hamer’s stats is that for a very good midfielder he has some of the worst pass completion percentages you could see. But that does not mean he is a bad passer. Like I mentioned last summer, when the Blades signed him, we should expect Hamer’s passing percentage to be very low; he plays a lot of difficult passes because his game is all about being direct and on the front foot at all the times.
As per FBref, Hamer’s pass completion percentage ranks him in the 2nd percentile. When you break down his passing stats in more detail you can see that he ranks in the 94th percentile for key passes and 77th in expected assists. And while Hamer has below average progressing stats he makes up for that with his direct approach; United’s number eight ranks 79th in passes into the penalty area and 75th in accurate crosses into the box, ranking 85th in total crosses.
