Chris Basham has signed a new two and a half year deal at Bramall Lane this week, keeping him at the club until 2021 at the earliest.

The 30-year-old has been inspirational as part of Chris Wilder's back three and formed a key component of their rise from League One to genuine Premier League promotion candidates.

Having come from a humble background, Basham made his name at Bolton Wanderers before dropping into League One with Blackpool. It was from there he joined Wilder's revolution whilst the Blades were a League One side, going on to make 179 league starts to date.

Blades fans will be delighted with the news emerging recently, giving them a timely boost ahead of the steel city derby. Basham is integral to the success that they're enjoying right now, but more than that he symbolises the Chris Wilder era perfectly.

Here are three reasons why he reflects what Sheffield United are all about...Basham isn't the most spectacular of footballers, he doesn't have a Premier League academy upbringing, nor a prolonged spell with a decent club.

He is part of a functioning machine, he's not just Chris Basham he's part of the solid and dependable back three upon which the promotion dream is based.

Sheffield United's defence is far better than the sum of its parts, as is their overall XI.

He's getting better in his thirties, something that reflects the Sheffield United squad as a whole.

Up front, Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick and Leon Clarke have all left their twenties behind and are performing perhaps as well as at any other point in their career.

Age is no barrier at Bramall Lane, as Basham and the rest are proving.

He arrived on a free transfer and that is typical of Wilder's transfer philosophy.

He doesn't seem to spend big money, fishing for loan deals, freebies and cut-price bargains.

Somehow, it seems to pay off. An unspectacular summer has led to a spectacular first few months.