Sheffield United will listen to offers of around £25m for star midfielder Sander Berge, as speculation continues to grow over the Norwegian’s future.
Berge enjoyed a brilliant end to the season last year and was instrumental as United charged into the playoffs, only to lose out to Nottingham Forest in a penalty shootout. The midfielder arrived when Chris Wilder was in charge, when the Blades paid around £22m to acquire him from Genk.
However, ever since relegation, speculation has been rife about Berge’s future in red and white. United managed to hold onto him last season, sticking to their £35m asking-price as Arsenal and Tottenham circled. But this summer could be a different story.
According to the Sheffield Star, the Blades board will listen intently to any offers around the £25m mark. Of course, that is a significant drop on that initial asking price and release-clause. But with another season in the Championship, the club does need to save or recoup money somewhere.
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As per other local outlets, Sheffield United News understands that funds from any player sales will be made available to Paul Heckingbottom. CEO Stephen Bettis has also confirmed there is no pressure to sell, and insisted the club will spend money this summer to strengthen.
Our View: Board’s £25m Stance On Sander Berge Is Understandable
At the end of the day, every player has a price and if United can recoup their money for Berge, then most fans would probably understand it. £25m is a big sum at Championship level and if Heckingbottom gets some of it to spend, then all the better.
Naturally, we’d all love Sander to stay. He showed last season that he can be unplayable at times and if we want to win promotion, then keeping Berge helps us with that goal.
However, there is always the business side of things and at the end of the day, you can’t blame the board if they do take £25m for a player they bought for £22m two years back.
