One year ago, Liverpool fans were crying out for the Reds to bring in Sander Berge from Genk, but it seems as though the Merseyside club had a lucky escape on that front.
Liverpool were reportedly interested in the £25m-rated the Norwegian last winter, but in the end, he ended up signing for Sheffield United, and it’s fair to say that move hasn’t exactly gone to plan.
Berge joined the Blades when the Yorkshire club were on the verge of pushing on and clinching a European qualification spot, but post-lockdown, Chris Wilder’s side saw their form drop off a cliff.
The Bramall Lane outfit now sit bottom of the Premier League, consigned to a relegation battle, and Berge is struggling to say the least.
The 22-year-old has had his moments this season, but a 6.56 average WhoScored rating for a team that have just one point from eight games indicates that he wouldn’t have been worth the money for Liverpool.
When you factor in that Liverpool got a proven Champions League winning midfielder for the same price in the shape of Thiago Alcantara, the reported interest in Berge one year ago looks even worse.
Would Liverpool have been able to sign Thiago if they’d bought Berge? We can’t say for certain, but their finances would certainly have been stretched if they were trying to outlay £50 million on two midfielders within a few months.
We can understand why supporters wanted Berge this time last year, he was one of the most highly-rated midfielders in Europe at the time, but it goes to show why scouting and due-diligence is done on every player as the Reds may have been signing a flop if they’d listened to their fans’ pleas.
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