Manchester United Target Sander Berge as Midfield Options Expand
Manchester United’s midfield rebuild has reached the recalculation stage. The money being thrown around elsewhere has forced it.
With Elliot Anderson going to Manchester City for a staggering £116 million and Mateus Fernandes joining Tottenham Hotspur for £85m despite West Ham United’s relegation, United have drawn a line. They will not, for once, simply pay whatever it takes.
So the search has stretched out. And an old name is back on the board.
Berge back in the frame
Sander Berge, once monitored and then passed over by United, is again being discussed at Old Trafford after a strong World Cup with Norway.
The 28-year-old only left Burnley for Fulham last summer in a £25m deal, but his stock has risen quickly. According to The Athletic’s Old Trafford reporter Laurie Whitwell, speaking on the Talk of the Devils podcast, Berge has re-emerged as a live option.
“Sander Berge is an interesting one. He’s playing pretty well for Norway in the World Cup,” Whitwell said, outlining why his name is back in the conversation. United tracked him throughout the 2023-24 season before Fulham made their move, yet chose not to act. Fulham did, and at a price that now looks like a bargain.
This time, the equation is different. “They didn’t go for him, but Fulham did for £25m. He’d cost more now,” Whitwell noted, adding that Berge is seen as the type of player who could “fit into the team straight away”.
No one at United is pretending he would be a transformative signing. As Whitwell put it, Berge is not the star who will redefine what this side can do. What he is, though, is a proven, physically imposing midfielder capable of operating at the level United are trying to reach, and doing it now rather than in two or three years’ time.
The Athletic’s transfer dealsheet backs that up, stating that United, having ‘previously considered’ Berge, could now reignite their interest off the back of his international performances.
Scott blocked, eyes on Tchouameni and Santos
Berge is not the only name in the frame. Far from it.
Alex Scott has climbed to the top of Michael Carrick’s wishlist. BBC Sport’s chief United correspondent Simon Stone reported recently that the Bournemouth midfielder has become Carrick’s No 1 target in recent weeks, the kind of intelligent, technically secure operator United want to build around.
There is a problem. Bournemouth have told both United and Arsenal that Scott is not for sale. Not at any price they are willing to consider.
That stance has forced United to look along the shelf. The Athletic report that Aurelien Tchouameni and Andrey Santos are both under serious consideration if Scott cannot be prised away.
Tchouameni is the marquee option. If Jose Mourinho, now in charge at Real Madrid, decides to cash in on the Frenchman, United are ready to open talks over a deal worth around €100m (£85m). That would put Tchouameni in the same financial bracket as Fernandes and just below Anderson, but with a far more established pedigree at the top level.
Santos is a different kind of play: younger, less proven, but with enormous upside. INEOS, now driving the football operation at Old Trafford, are showing firm interest in the Chelsea midfielder. The Brazilian would be open to a move, and a deal is expected to cost in the region of £50m. At this stage, though, United have not yet begun formal discussions with Chelsea.
Felix Nmecha has also been watched, but Borussia Dortmund’s valuation has effectively ended that idea before it could start. At a massive €120m (£102.5m), he sits well beyond what United are prepared to commit in this window.
A new transfer reality
All of this points to a clear shift. United are still shopping at the top end of the market, but they are no longer willing to be the club that blinks first every time the numbers climb.
That is why Berge’s name carries weight. He is not the flashiest option on the list, not the one who will dominate social media for a week, but he is attainable, Premier League-ready and trusted by those who have watched him closely.
United have missed out on Anderson and Fernandes. Scott is locked behind Bournemouth’s stance. Tchouameni would require a major decision in Madrid. Santos needs a negotiation with Chelsea and a leap of faith.
Berge, by contrast, feels like a move that could actually happen.
In a market where prices keep shattering logic, that alone might be enough to push United towards a midfielder who promises substance over spectacle.
