Report: Arsenal keen on £22m Premier League ace; Klopp thinks he’s ‘very interesting’

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Arsenal are interested in £22 million Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge, according to VG, having missed out on the Norwegian when he moved to Bramall Lane in the January transfer window.

With all due respect to the Blades, their big-money record signing might have viewed the Steel City side as something of a ‘stepping stone’ when he bid farewell to Genk ten months ago.

Berge had offers from Liverpool and Arsenal on the table at the time but Sheffield United promised something a pair of Premier League giants couldn’t – guaranteed first-team football in England’s top flight.

And, almost a year after he put pen to paper in South Yorkshire, Berge’s decision has been justified – even with Sheffield United struggling at the bottom of the Premier League.

The 6ft 4in Scandinavian is one of the first names on Chris Wilder’s team sheet these days. According to VG, Arsenal are still interested in a man who has now proven himself in the Premier League, silencing those who doubted whether he could make the step up from Belgian football.

“People judged Sander when we signed him. People thought he wouldn’t be a success in the Premier League but he has turned that upside down. Sander has been our best player this season,” the outspoken Wilder says.

“He is a complete midfielder. The wonderful thing about Sander is his attitude. I just have to say it – Sander has been unique. He is the one who has stood out for us.”

Sheffield United would surely demand a sizeable profit on a player they invested £22 million in earlier this year, and it remains to be seen whether cash-strapped Arsenal can finance a deal after spending big on Thomas Partey.

Berge is hardly an ‘attacking midfielder’ but he’s certainly more adventurous than the former Atletico Madrid enforcer. He’s at his best when linking defence and attack, drifting wide and driving into the channels.

With Grant Xhaka and Dani Ceballos in and out of Mikel Arteta’s starting XI and Mo Elneny feeling like a short-term fix, could Berge be Partey’s long-term midfield partner at the Emirates?

“You are an interesting player, a very interesting player,” Jurgen Klopp said after Genk’s Champions League clash with Liverpool last year, as reported by VG.