Burnley confirm £15m signing of Sander Berge from Sheffield United | OneFootball

Burnley have officially announced the singing of Sander Berge from Sheffield United.

According to Fabrizio Romano, The deal is said to be worth £15m including bonusses, and the Norwegian international has signed a four-year contract with the North West club.

The 25-year-old has rejected several contract offers from The Blades and only had a year left on his deal at the side, who have now decided to cash in on the midfielder, with fellow promoted side Burnley having shown interest in several previous windows without a deal progressing.

In January 2020, Sheffield fought of interest from the likes of Manchester United to sign Berge from Genk for a then-club record fee of €25m, and he has since gone onto make 109 appearances for the club- 29 of which coming in the Premier League prior to their relegation to the Championship in the 2020/21 season. Furthermore, in his most recent season, the 6’5” midfielder played a pivotal role in Paul Heckingbottom’s side as they won promotion to the English top flight, standing out with his excellent ability carry the ball through midfield and contribute in the final third- scoring six and assisting five in 34 starts.

Berge’s is the second significant sale at Bramall Lane this summer, with last season’s star player and top scorer Iliman Ndiaye already having joined his boyhood club Marseille for €17m. Meanwhile, club-record scorer Billy Sharp has departed following the expiration of his contract, whilst Manchester City talents Tommy Doyle and James McAtee have not returned following their influential loan spells at Sheffield last year.

Consequently, despite bringing in players such as Auston Trusty from Arsenal and young striker Bénie Traoré from Häcken, Premier League survival is becoming an increasingly difficult task for the South Yorkshire club this season.

As for Burnley, this signing will be their ninth of the summer window so far, taking their total net spend up to just under €80m,- in comparison to Sheffield’s three signings and €13m net spend, as per Transfermarkt. This investment comes as Vincent Kompany looks to bolster his squad and maintain the levels which saw his side gain 101 points in their title winning campaign last season.

Both sides will kick-off their return to the Premier League this weekend, as Burnley host treble winners Manchester City at Turf Moor on Friday August 11, whilst Sheffield United will face Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace at home the following day at 3pm.

Travis Levison | Get Football