Grimes has barely missed a game his entire career, he constantly manages 10+ games more a season than Sheaf ever has for us. He also seems to take a while to get going again after injuries. Can't imagine that won't be a factor in his value.
I can't remember if he got a big wage boost, He is a top Champ player when on form and fit so will be hard to replace. Just need to weigh up if the potential fee and saving of wages could be better used.
But Grimes is better than Sheaf age or not. He's 27 now. Sheaf strikes me as the almost man he still needs to cut out the crap passes that put us on the back foot but he hasn't year and injuries have crept in. I'd be surprised to see him play in the premiership unless it's with us.
Comparing them is apples and pears. Sheaf was a top performer in his categories last season as was Grimes and going into next season, both players will complement the other very well imo.
The reason I used Grimes as a benchmark was because he’s slightly older and cost £4m so Sheaf is worth more than that imo. Clubs were certainly willing to pay more than that in the summer.
Since Hamer left, Sheaf had to step up as a creative playmaker and that isn’t really game and on the injuries front, I expect his workload to managed better now the squad is expanding. Players like Torp and Eccles backing up Grimes and Sheaf is good depth for the Championship (excluded Allen because his contract situation is unclear).
I’m optimistic Sheaf can stay fitter next season because we’re in a better position to manage his workload a bit better. In his career with Cov, he’s pretty much had to play 100% of minutes whenever he’s available and the type of injuries he’s had tend to be muscular i.e. overuse.
The bottom line is that I don’t think there’s anyone on the market that we’d get who is better than Sheaf for £3-5m.
