Sheffield United key figure reveals expectation on future of Leeds United and Club Brugge target | OneFootball

Sheffield United assistant boss Stuart McCall expects star midfielder Sander Berge to be at Bramall Lane when the transfer window closes, speaking to Yorkshire Live ahead of tonight’s tie against West Bromwich Albion.

The Norwegian has been linked with a move away from South Yorkshire this summer after enjoying a fruitful end to the 2021/22 campaign, even though his side failed to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Injury problems during the early stages of last term all but ruled out a potential move away in January after being the subject of considerable interest last summer, though no side decided to trigger his £35m release clause.

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And with just two years now left on his deal, it’s currently unclear whether any club would be willing to meet that price now, especially after seeing him suffer with injuries once again.

Club Brugge have recently launched an offer for the 24-year-old – but that bid was reported by HLN to be in the region of €15m – well short of the Blades’ valuation of him with the board willing to listen to offers of around £25m.

Leeds, meanwhile, have seemingly not made their move to recruit him just yet and McCall hopes and believes Berge will still be a United player when the current window shuts.

He said: “We are expecting that [to still be here] as we are with a lot of good players in this squad.

“People can come in at any time for your players and if they match a certain price no matter who you are or where you are clubs have got to look at it.

“We are trying to build a really successful group here because we want to have a crack this season, we really do.”

The Verdict:

It would be difficult to see a club paying out the £25m potentially needed to lure him away from Bramall Lane this summer because of his fitness issues, even though he has proven himself as an exceptional player.

Clubs may want to keep tabs on him and let his contract run down slightly more before making a move for him, with a move in January or next summer potentially more likely at this stage.

This window may be the Blades’ best opportunity to secure a sizeable fee for his services though because he isn’t guaranteed to sign a new contract at Bramall Lane and with that, his market value is only likely to go down with every window that passes.

United may need to reduce their valuation of the Norwegian if they want to sell him during this window though, with a fee of around £20m potentially acceptable to avoid losing him for much less or for free in the future.

They may have recruited him for £22m back in 2020 – but they aren’t in the strongest negotiation position after remaining in the Championship and could benefit from these funds to invest in their first-team squad.