Credit Sheffield United’s board for standing firm over Sander Berge and Co. - now for promotion push

Hours on hours of stomach-turning twists and turns and furious refreshing of fans’ Twitter feeds ended almost exactly as it had started for Sheffield United, save for a couple of outgoings that would normally cause barely a ripple on any other deadline day.

But this wasn’t any other deadline day. This was summer 2022, the day when Sander Berge’s Sheffield United future went from secure, to over and then in the balance and then over and then, potentially, secure again.

How Berge could still leave United this summer despite transfer window closing

The drama may not be over just yet – Club Brugge, his biggest suitors, can still sign players until September 6 and have until midnight today [Friday] to register them for their Champions League campaign – but even the most pessimistic Blades fan, scarred by past memories of Deane and Fjorfoft being torn away and their side imploding as a result, will have woken up this morning with an extra spring in the step.

Berge, with United top of the table and already only having about three fit, senior midfielders and declining to push the button on Ismael Kone on deadline day, is surely going nowhere. In this window, at least. Expect maybe a week or so’s quiet time before the January rumours start, and enjoy every moment.

United seal fee and sell-on clause as defender returns to former club

Full credit, then, to United’s hierarchy for standing firm. It was made a little easier for them by Brugge’s reluctance to go anywhere near United’s asking price for Berge but there is a suspicion on the Bramall Lane terraces that, in years gone by, the Norwegian would have been holding up a Brugge shirt much earlier in the window.

Not now, it seems. United appear to be a much less soft touch when it comes to holding on to their prized assets – as demonstrated perfectly with the Aaron Ramsdale situation, when they only caved to Arsenal when the player effectively went on strike to secure the move. And only then for a fee which could hit £30m.

Blades, Burnley and Boro stand out as big winners of window after deadline

Reports that Leeds were put off by United’s asking price for John Egan therefore come as no surprise. The Blades hierarchy have come under some criticism in recent seasons – and some aspects, such as their ‘pay-day loan’ arrangements with an Australian bank, are still a little concerning – but they have undoubtedly furnished boss Paul Heckingbottom with a squad capable of at least mounting another challenge for promotion this season.

Good, early work in the window avoided the usual late-night trolley dash that we saw last season, when deals for two wingers fell through and then-boss Slavisa Jokanović almost combusted. United now appear more balanced and even the less-glamorous signings, with respect to Adam Davies and Ciaran Clark, have strengthened key areas.

United's reported asking price that put Leeds off a move for Egan

The signing of Anel Ahmedhodžić is surely the best in the league this window, the obvious Blades bias aside, and United’s mettle will surely be tested over the futures of the likes of the Bosnian, Egan and Iliman Ndiaye in future windows.

Such is life outside the Premier League. But United’s board have stood firm so far and deserve credit. They would be fully entitled to say, to Paul Heckingbottom, his staff and players: “We have done our bit. Now, it’s over to you.”

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