Sheffield United could land £28m windfall as Premier League rivals eye key man

As things stand, it would take a miracle for the Blades to avoid the drop, with 15 points currently standing between them and safety, and only eight games left to make up the ground.

Norway international Sander Berge is a player who is likely to draw attention this summer, and national media reports have linked the towering midfielder with a big-money move to Manchester City, who have apparently earmarked him as the ideal successor to Brazilian veteran Fernandinho.

United broke their transfer record to sign the 23-year-old from KRC Genk for £22m back in January 2020. He's since made 30 appearances for the club, but has been out of action with a hamstring injury since December.

The hefty figure of £35m has been quoted as a price the Blades could demand for Berge, whose contract doesn't expire until the end of the 2023/24 season. His former club are due 20% of his eventual sell-on fee, which would see United bring in £28m should he command the aforementioned £35m fee.

Last month, there was talk of both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur keeping tabs on the towering midfielder, who looks increasingly unlikely to be playing second-tier football next season.

Keeping Berge at the club was one of the demands former manager Chris Wilder made to his board of directors, before he controversially left the Blades three weeks ago.