Delving into the reasons why Sheffield United announced Sander Berge is no longer for sale

Ostensibly there to discuss a tumultuous tie, which spawned six goals, one red card and an added time equaliser for the Championship club, Heckingbottom had instead been confronted by a barrage of questions about transfer embargos, finance and of course the future of midfielder Sander Berge.

Forty-eight hours after revealing the Norway international had been withdrawn from the squad which travelled to the Racecourse Ground, United’s manager is now in a much better frame of mind after learning he won’t be losing one of his high-profile names after all.

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Berge’s continued presence at Bramall Lane had already been in doubt before it emerged Fulham and to a lesser extent Newcastle were attempting to exploit United’s financial difficulties by exploring the possibility of luring him away. Despite the success of Heckingbottom and his squad on the pitch, United’s performance off it has not achieved the same high standard of late. After missing a payment, understood to relate to a transfer deal which predates the 45-year-old’s appointment, officials in South Yorkshire were placed under a transfer embargo by the English Football League. With 30 days to lift it before further sanctions are considered. Heckingbottom publicly acknowledged that “selling a player” would be the easiest and quickest route out of the mess. But even though he described the EFL’s decision as “serious”, amid attempts by some commentators to make light of the situation, losing Berge or worse still Iliman Ndiaye was not something Heckingbottom was prepared to countenance.

“You my thoughts on the situation are,” he told The Star before leaving north Wales, deliberately distancing himself from any decision to cash-in on Berge. “You know what my position is.”

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By retaining Berge’s services, United have averted being plunged into a political crisis at a critical stage of the campaign. After observing the maelstrom which surrounded Chris Wilder towards the end of the former defender’s reign, Heckingbottom has chosen to be much less forthright when faced by many of the same problems which frustrated his predecessor. Until recently that is. Even though he couched it in conciliatory language, Heckingbottom left no one in any doubt that it would send out completely the wrong message to sell Berge while United are battling for promotion; particularly when fellow contenders Blackburn Rovers had demonstrated they were happy to lose Ben Brereton-Diaz for nothing over the summer rather than weaken Jon Dahl Tomasson’s options now.

The individual responsible for relaying the news that owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had declared both Berge and Ndiaye off limits briefed that the directive came following a meeting involving the board and chief executive Steve Bettis. The fact it was issued, albeit much later than anyone would have liked, can partly be viewed as a victory for Heckingbottom’s plan to build cordial relationships behind the scenes.

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Like Ndiaye, whose representatives gave Everton no encouragement whatsoever when they let slip they were monitoring his situation, Berge made it clear long before the window opened that he was not actively seeking a move. Heckingbottom referenced this following the meeting with Wrexham. Thought to be the only player at United who did not receive a significant wage cut following the club’s relegation from the Premier League, Berge’s long term future probably isn’t at United after outlining his intention to compete at European level. But like Heckingbottom, neither he nor his intermediary wanted to upset the applecart after seeing them establish a 12 point lead over third placed Middlesbrough in the Championship table.

“We know what’s up for grabs,” Heckingbottom said recently. “And what it’s worth.

“For me, that’s the bigger prize. It’s my job to try and defend the group. I want to keep it together.”

Still prohibited from processing new registrations, United must now find another way of settling the debt which saw them censured by the EFL. Sources with knowledge of the methods United are considering stressed yesterday that they are convinced they can find enough wriggle room to escape further punishment if the matter is not settled within 30 days, beginning when the governing body first intervened. According to the EFL’s regulations, any delay beyond that period will see United banned from entering the market for a further two windows - no matter what division they are competing in.

Even if they discover a loophole, however, the reputational damage United would suffer within the game could be considerable. Much better, as members of Heckingbottom’s inner circle recognise, to simply pay the outstanding amount.

Even more than Berge’s desire to stay put for the time-being, what decided his immediate future was the fact neither Fulham nor Newcastle were willing to stump-up the kind of money which would have enabled United to portray the deal as acceptable. Clearly, the board were willing to consider losing him. Otherwise, they would have made it plain he was staying from the outset.

But given the outcry Berge’s departure would have provoked on the terraces, even though he has yet to realise his full potential, only receiving something above the figure it cost to initially recruit him could have provided United’s powerbrokers with the ammunition to mount something which resembled a coherent defence and deflected attention away from Bramall Lane’s internal affairs.

Despite delving into the detail of Berge’s agreement, and considering the situation United find themselves in, Fulham are not believed to have followed up their approach with a concrete bid. Newcastle wanted to broker a loan in order to comply with financial fair play regulations - which made little sense for either Berge or his employers.

Through accident, design or a combination of the two, both he and Ndiaye will be in the side which faces Rotherham this weekend.

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