Burnley midfielder Sander Berge is on the verge of joining Premier League side Fulham, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
The Norwegian midfielder had been the subject of interest from Manchester United, who are believed to have had a bid rejected by Burnley last week. It now looks as if Marco Silva’s Fulham have beaten the arsed Devils to his signature.
Berge played in 37 of 38 league games last season as Vincent Kompany’s side suffered relegation and an immediate return to the Championship.
Despite relegation, the 26-year-old impressed in possession and was successful with almost 89% of his passes. Defensively he ranked well amongst his midfield peers, winning over half of his duels and ranked highly in the number of recoveries made.
Should the former Sheffield United man depart, it would leave Burnley and new boss Scott Parker short on options in the central midfield role and he would be looking to reinvest the fee to help his side’s promotion push.
Since relegation, the Clarets have lost Wilson Odobert to Tottenham Hotspur for a reported £25 million fee and look set to lose goalkeeper James Trafford amid Premier League interest, notably from Newcastle United.
For Fulham, the signing of Berge would add to a midfield containing recent big-money signing Emile Smith Rowe and would bring in an experienced head for a more defensive role.
His ability to keep possession will fit with a Fulham side that averaged the ninth-highest amount of possession in the Premier League last season and made the seventh-highest amount of passes.
Writer’s View
Despite suffering two relegations in four seasons, Berge is a much sought-after midfielder and his statistics as a possession player who can defend support the reasons why.
Fulham look to have a group of midfielders who can attack and Berge will provide solidity behind those players.
For Burnley, the loss of Berge will be no surprise following relegation and they will hope to get a sizeable fee that can be ploughed back into building a squad to bounce back to the Premier League.
Be the first to comment