Newcastle has identified Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge as a possible replacement for Jonjo Shelvey, according to The Mail’s Craig Hope, who posted the following on Twitter this evening:
Newcastle is looking into loaning out Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge.
Berge, who turns 25 next month, has recently been heavily linked with a Bramall Lane exit. In fact, Sheffield manager Paul Heckingbottom has been told not to play the Norwegian while talks with other clubs continue.
Heckingbottom told The Athletic on Sunday after being left out of the FA Cup squad that drew 3-3 at Wrexham in a thriller:
“Sander is not here because we have been asked not to use him because our club is speaking to other clubs regarding him.
“It doesn’t mean Sander’s going anywhere. Sander is happy here, but the situation we find ourselves in — mid-takeover with a transfer embargo, no clarity which way it’s going and financial issues — one way to potentially resolve some issues is selling a player.
“Everyone knows my thoughts but we have had lots of things we have had to deal with but this is in the public eye.
“He would be a big loss, we worked hard to keep this squad together in terms of the balance and how competitive it is and that’s shown in our results and performances.
“We find ourselves in difficult times financially and it means some tough decisions may have to be made. But there are lots of ways we could come out of it and keep hold of players.”
It is thought that Fulham is one of the clubs in talks for Berge, who is in the final 18 months of his contract. Chelsea also explored a move for the midfielder in the summer with Sheffield rejecting their advances.
Berge joined The Blades three years ago during the winter window from Genk for £22m. He has since made 87 appearances with 29 of those coming in the Premier League.
Sheffield is currently 2nd in The Championship with a healthy 12-point gap to 3rd-placed Middlesbrough, who signed local lad Dan Barlaser from Rotherham on Sunday.
It is likely the loan move would include a purchase option as it makes no sense for Sheffield to lose a top player for little financial benefit. In fact, reports in the past mentioned a reasonable release clause in his contract.
Berge is a complete midfielder who would suit Eddie Howe’s three-midfield system in either the deep role or one of the box-to-box roles. He is also 6’4″ to go with some of Newcastle’s other giants.
Berge has shown tremendous loyalty to The Blades with reports brewing almost every window of outside interest since their relegation in 2021. He would be another player Howe could theoretically get the best out of.
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