What James McAtee's arrival means for Sander Berge's Sheffield United future
James McAtee has been brought to Sheffield United to complement the threat of star man Sander Berge, rather than replace him, boss Paul Heckingbottom has insisted.
The Manchester City youngster arrived at Bramall Lane officially this afternoon on a season-long loan deal, becoming United’s sixth summer signing and joining his City teammate Tommy Doyle in South Yorkshire.
With Reda Khadra also adding to United’s attacking options, many fans feared that McAtee’s arrival would signal the departure of Norwegian international Berge, who has been linked with the exit door constantly since United’s relegation from the Premier League.
Hinting that Berge may revert to a deeper role in midfield this season, Heckingbottom, when asked if McAtee’s arrival meant Berge was maybe on his way, insisted: “Not at all. They're different players.
“We expect more from Sander than just being one of the boys up the pitch. We moved Sander up the pitch last season because of where we found ourselves with players.
“We had to try and produce chances and performances in a different way and we want James to add more options. Whichever players are on the pitch, we still have players on the bench and it's constant quality.”
Heckingbottom revealed McAtee is available for selection for this weekend’s clash with Millwall at Bramall Lane, but has only played around 20 minutes of football for City in pre-season and is expected to be built up gradually.
“I’d love to expose him to the Championship as soon as possible because it'll be an eye opener for him,” Heckingbottom added.
“He's been eager to get out and play for a long time, so he's looking forward to it.”