Sheffield United stance emerges on 24-year-old | OneFootball

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Football League World

·21 May 2022

Sheffield United stance emerges on 24-year-old

Article image:Sheffield United stance emerges on 24-year-old

Sheffield United’s coaching staff want to retain midfielder Sander Berge beyond the upcoming summer window despite being consigned to another season of Championship football, as per a report from The Star.

The 24-year-old spent the early stages of the season struggling with injury problems, a real disappointment considering how much of a game-changer he looked set to be in the second tier after taking the step down.


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First arriving at Bramall Lane for a fee believed to be in the region of £22m, he was one of the favourites to depart Bramall Lane last summer alongside Aaron Ramsdale, with the Blades adapting to the loss of revenue in the Championship.

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Article image:Sheffield United stance emerges on 24-year-old

Matthew Lowton

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Despite selling Ramsdale to Arsenal in August in a £30m deal, they managed to retain Berge with United previously thought to have refused to lower their price tag for the Norwegian, with no club willing to match his £35m release clause.

With two years remaining on his current deal in South Yorkshire and the Blades remaining in the second tier, the summer window could be the perfect time for the club to sell him on with his value only likely to decrease as his contract runs down.

But according to the Sheffield Star, the second-tier side’s coaching staff want to retain the 24-year-old who could be a real difference-maker next season if he remains fit.

It’s currently unclear whether the club’s potential sale would have any impact on whether Berge stays or goes, with the EFL currently reviewing Henry Mauriss’ £115m offer to take control of the club.

The Verdict:

As mentioned before, the Norwegian has two years left on his deal and with that, it would surely be the right time to cash in if they received an eight-figure fee for his services.

They may only get offers that are considerably lower than the £22m they spent – but that’s understandable considering his previous injury worries and his step down to the second tier – so they shouldn’t hold out for too much.

However, if they do sell him, the board needs to make a decent chunk of that revenue generated available to Heckingbottom who didn’t have a big budget to work with during the winter window.

Doing well without having millions to spend, it would be interesting to see what strategy Heckingbottom pursues if he is given a higher amount of money in the coming months because he could put his own stamp on the squad.

Allowing the 44-year-old to do that doesn’t seem like a bad idea considering how successful he has been with the Blades so far, despite missing out on promotion, so Berge’s sale should only be sanctioned if it’s reinvested in the squad and other important areas of the club.

If they can inject some of those funds into the academy as well, it could set them up well for the future.

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