Sheffield United: Sander Berge has shown why he can't be allowed to leave Bramall Lane

Berge was on target for the sixth time in his last 16 outings for Heckingbottom’s side during the win over the Londoners, which saw United record their first victory of the new Championship season.

A £22m signing from Genk two years ago, Berge swept home after Iliman Ndiaye had opened the scoring for the hosts who later saw Oliver Norwood miss a first-half penalty.

With his future in South Yorkshire uncertain - one senior figure at the club recently admitting Berge’s agents have been “busy” attempting to find a buyer for their client - Heckingbottom was asked if it was “imperative” United’s hierarchy resist th

e temptation to cash in one one of their most valuable assets.

He replied: “Yes, Sander has shown that. (Why he can’t leave). At times, I thought he was playing a different game out there.

“It’s the detail he puts in too. Not only with the ball but also without it, as he’s shown out there today.”

Heckingbottom highlighted Millwall’s threat from set-pieces as the greatest threat to United’s hopes of bouncing back from Monday’s defeat by Watford; their first outing of the new campaign.

“The positions he took up at those, where he was also a real asset for us, was excellent,” Heckingbottom added. “We knew they would get them so we tried to turn it into a positive, looking at how we could break from them which Sander did so well with his positioning.”

MORE: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-v-millwall-why-rival-boss-felt-first-goal-should-have-been-disallowed-3796294