Having seen his contract expire at Coventry City, Callum O’Hare has been in high demand amongst a number of clubs this transfer window.
Sheffield United were one of those clubs interested in signing him and reports suggest that they have taken a lead in the race to do so. The Blades would beat off interest from fellow Yorkshire side Leeds United should they complete a deal for the 26-year-old.
O’Hare’s career so far
O’Hare joined Aston Villa’s youth team and progressed through their ranks, having signed at the age of seven. He made nine appearances for the Villa first team but didn’t manage to sustain a place within the side.
Loan spells followed at Carlisle United and Coventry City and it was with the sky blues that O’Hare’s career took off and he became a fans favourite. His loan spell with Coventry in the COVID disrupted 2019-20 season saw him make 40 appearances and score four goals to help the club gain promotion to the Championship.
Having been released from Aston Villa in 2020 O’Hare signed a three-year deal with Coventry. During his time with the West Midlands club, O’Hare made a total of 142 appearances and scored 18 times. He was a key member of the club’s run to the semi-final of the FA Cup last season and scored in the semi-final defeat to Manchester United.
O’Hare leaves the club in search of a new challenge and it is a reunion with Gustavo Hamer at Sheffield United that is rumoured to be the 26-year old’s destination.
O’Hare’s potential in a Sheffield United side
There is no doubt that the signing of O’Hare would be a big statement of intent from the Blades, especially given the competition to sign the midfielder. A move to the recently relegated Premier League side would see him reunited with Gustavo Hamer who he had a crucial partnership with when playing together for Coventry.
During the 2021-22 season, Hamer and O’Hare contributed to 43% of Coventry’s goals in assists and finding the back of the net. If Sheffield United can get the two individuals clicking again then they have got an impressive midfield duo to take on their opposition with.
O’Hare is incredibly capable of creating and finishing chances on his own as well. The midfielder produced 14 goal contributions in all competitions and had on average two shots per 90 minutes with a shot accuracy of 79%.
The 26-year-old also has an impressive range of passing at his disposal to open up opposition defences. O’Hare had a pass completion rate of 86.3% and a long ball accuracy of 75% in the 2023-24 Championship season. His passing ability created 1.9 chances on average per 90 minutes.
The dribbling ability of the former Aston Villa man is shown by his skill in drawing fouls from his opposition. He won on average 2.2 fouls per 90 minutes in the Championship last season. Despite his best position being in the attacking midfield role, O’Hare does have the versatility to be pushed out wide in the right or left-wing position.
Having suffered an ACL injury that saw him miss near the entirety of Coventry’s 2022-23 campaign, the only concern will be whether O’Hare can stay injury free. If he does, Sheffield United will have an incredibly talented midfielder to help them in their aim of returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
More than one arrival at Bramall Lane
Coupled with the report of the Blades leading the race to sign O’Hare is the supposed imminent signing of Welsh international Kieffer Moore. The former Ipswich Town striker was set to sign for Hull City but Sheffield United are rumoured to have secured a loan-to-buy deal for the 31-year-old.
O’Hare and Moore, should the deals be completed, would become the club’s third and fourth signings of the transfer window after Jamie Shackleton and Sam McCallum signed from Leeds United and Norwich City respectively.