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Sheffield United's transfer search for Gus Hamer successor may not be what fans expect after Coventry City return Chris Wilder believes Sheffield United still need proven Championship experience in defence, but says the Blades can afford to think differently as they search for a player capable of replacing Gus Hamer's creativity Sheffield United could take a different approach to replacing Gus Hamer than elsewhere in the transfer market, manager Chris Wilder has suggested, as the Blades face up to life without their talismanic star man. Hamer returned to Coventry City earlier this week. United go into the new Championship season, which starts today at home to Birmingham City, searching for his replacement as well as the two centre-halves they had targeted before the summer window even opened. While Wilder has made no secret of his desire to bring proven Championship experience into the heart of his defence, making Harry Souttar his primary target, he admits the profile of Hamer's replacement could be very different. "When I looked at the back four last year it was a really young back four," he said. "Femi [Seriki] and Michael Cooper hadn't played six, seven or eight seasons in the Championship. “Harrison Burrows had only come out of Peterborough the year before. Sam McCallum pushed him really well last year and was outstanding. Tyler Bindon played a lot of football with the skipper [Japhet Tanganga], who hadn't played a lot of Championship football either after coming from Spurs. "So especially in the back four, that's where we needed the experience. Bringing Matt Doherty into it has given that experience and, yeah, we are after somebody that's played in the Championship, played at this level, to give us that competition at centre-half." Further forward, however, Wilder believes there is greater scope to think differently, with the loan market offering United the best route to a player who can replicate Hamer’s match-winning ability. “We can possibly look at it differently in Gus' position," he added. There's a little bit more freedom at the top of the pitch and a little bit less responsibility as well to go and create ... rather than the organisation and communication skills that you need if you're going to be a decent all-round team. “To replace Gus permanently, you’re talking £10m plus and we’re not in that position. It’s our first season without parachute payments. We have to deal with that situation financially. “There are some players out there that we're looking at and we have to be patient with it, getting the right one position-wise. And we still think, even though we're not receiving parachute payments, that we're still an attractive club to come to.”