Sheffield United: Chelsea DID move for Norway's Sander Berge before the deadline

Berge made the admission after reporting for duty with Stale Solbakken’s squad, acknowledging some “big” clubs expressed an interest in acquiring his services before it emerged he would be staying at Bramall Lane until January at least.

One of those was the two time European champions, who asked if United would be open to the idea of allowing Berge to depart on loan before pursuing a deal for Juventus’ Denis Zakaria instead. After telling Club Brugge their valuation of 24-year-old fell way below what would have been required to trigger his release, officials in South Yorkshire made it plain temporary offers were not going to be considered either - even if an option to make them permanent were written into the deal.

With United preparing for this weekend’s game against Birmingham City three points clear at the top of the Championship table, neither Berge nor his representatives are expected to push for a move away when the market reopens after Christmas; preferring to wait and see if Paul Heckingbottom’s squad can secure a return to the Premier League.

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News that Anel Ahmedhodzic sustained an injury ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Nations League games against Montenegro and Romania has caused the United manager a major headache, with the former Malmo defender in fine form since leaving Sweden. But his fellow United centre-half John Egan was on target for the Republic of Ireland when they faced Scotland on Saturday night, eventually losing 2-1 at Hampden Park.

United’s Rhian Brewster, Tommy Doyle, James McAtee and Reda Khadra could all feature when England’s under-21 squad faces its counterparts from Germany at Bramall Lane tomorrow night.

Brewster was on target twice when England beat Italy in Pescara last week. Khadra appeared as a substitute for the Germans when they were edged-out by France.

United’s Iliman Ndiaye was an unused substitute during Senegal’s win over Bolivia but is hoping to win his latest cap against Iran tomorrow.

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