According to Jeunes Footeux, Sheffield United are happy to let Sander Berge leave Bramall Lane for €26 million (£22.2 million) this summer, and Tottenham are one of the clubs in for him.
Berge may not have been able to save Sheffield United from what seems to be an inevitable relegation this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a brilliant footballer.
“He’s got undoubted class and we’ve been delighted with him. He’ll be a really good player for us,” Chris Wilder said not long after he’d signed.
Undoubted class is a bit of an understatement for a player like Berge. The midfielder is so unique in the way he plays, combining strength and size with incredible technical skill and dribbling ability.
Indeed, for a 6 ft 5 powerhouse, he can get about the pitch and run with the ball very well, averaging 3.3 dribbles per game for Norway this season, and even in a very restricted Sheffield United team he’s averaging 1.5 dribbles per game.
A strong midfielder who is great on the ball and can dribble their way out of sticky situations. If you feel like Tottenham have had a player like this before, then you’re absolutely right.
Indeed, Mousa Dembele wasn’t quite as big as Berge, standing at 6 ft 1, but his stocky build and incredible strength made him almost impossible to knock off the ball in the midfield, especially when you combined that with his quick feet.
Of course, Berge isn’t quite at the level Dembele was at quite yet, but he’s only 22 years old, and at that age, the Belgian was still a middling centre-forward at AZ Alkmaar, so it’s clear that there’s a lot of room for Berge to grow and become even better.
Spurs have trialled a number of different midfielders since Dembele’s departure, but there’s always been that feeling that they’ve never quite managed to find someone to fill the void left behind by the Belgian, but Berge could be that man.
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