“Unquestionably the right call” – Sheffield United stand firm in Fulham and Newcastle United saga: The verdict | OneFootball

Icon: Football League World

Football League World

·1 February 2023

“Unquestionably the right call” – Sheffield United stand firm in Fulham and Newcastle United saga: The verdict

Article image:“Unquestionably the right call” – Sheffield United stand firm in Fulham and Newcastle United saga: The verdict

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield United opted to keep Sander Berge at the club beyond the January transfer window.


OneFootball Videos


Speculation surrounding the midfielder came to a head in the final days of the winter window, with the likes of Fulham and Newcastle United heavily linked with a possible move before the Blades decided to reject any advances.

Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on whether this was the right decision by the Championship club amid a potentially lucrative offer…

Alfie Burns

There are a couple of ways to look at this: from a playing point of view and a financial perspective.

Berge is a top player and, on his day, one of those midfielders that is playing a level below his ability. Sheffield United are a better side with him playing, so retaining him is good news.

However, with that, he’s a saleable asset and a player that could’ve solved the Blades’ current off-field struggle. A sale would’ve lifted the transfer embargo lingering over the club.

Someone like Lewis O’Brien would’ve been a sound replacement and I don’t actually think it would’ve weakened Heckingbottom’s squad chasing promotion.

As it is, the club are confident of addressing off-field issues without a sale, so I’d side on it being a good move retaining Berge, given the impact he can have in the Championship and Premier League.

A sale, though, wouldn’t have been catastrophic.

Josh Cole

This is unquestionably the right call by the Blades as losing Berge at such a late stage in the transfer window would have been a major blow.

While United would have been able to secure a sizeable fee for the midfielder, they may have struggled to draft in a replacement due to the nature of their current embargo.

One of the club’s stand-out performers this season, Berge has managed to provide seven direct goal contributions in the Championship and is currently averaging an impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.02 at this level.

By maintaining his fitness over the course of the coming months, the Norwegian could potentially help United secure a return to the top-flight.

Think you’re a hardcore Sheffield United fan? Try score 20/20 on this quiz all about the club

1 of 20

Article image:“Unquestionably the right call” – Sheffield United stand firm in Fulham and Newcastle United saga: The verdict

Nick Montgomery has made how many appearances for Sheffield United?

392 397

Declan Harte

Berge has been crucial to the team during its time in the second tier and selling now would’ve been a big blow to Paul Heckingbottom’s position.

The manager has made it clear several times his desire to keep the team’s best players together as the club looks to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.

While any deal would likely have been very lucrative, there is no reason why Berge won’t still be very valuable in the summer when it would be far more convenient for all parties to cash-in.

Despite the big lead over the chasing pack outside the top two, keeping Berge still makes the most sense as the team needs to ensure they are best prepared for getting promotion over the line.

Potentially damaging the relationship with the manager was not worth the cash-value the club may have received for Berge, even with their current financial position and transfer embargo.

View publisher imprint