Manchester United Eyes Sander Berge Amid Transfer Market Chaos

Manchester United’s midfield rebuild has hit the reality of a wild transfer market, and Sander Berge has re-emerged as a serious, pragmatic option amid spiralling prices and missed opportunities.

United have already watched two of their preferred targets disappear in a blur of eye-watering fees. Elliot Anderson has gone to Manchester City for £116million. Mateus Fernandes, relegated with West Ham United last season, has still commanded £85m from Tottenham Hotspur. United stepped away from both, unwilling to be dragged into auctions they felt were detached from value.

So the search has widened. Alex Scott at Bournemouth, Aurelien Tchouameni at Real Madrid and Andrey Santos at Chelsea are all on the radar. But as the market overheats, one name keeps circling back to Old Trafford: Sander Berge.

Berge back on the radar

United’s interest in Berge is not new. They tracked the Norway international closely during the 2023-24 campaign, when he was at Burnley, before he ultimately joined Fulham for £25m. At the time, United chose not to move. Fulham did, and they were rewarded with a technically sound, physically imposing midfielder who has since pushed his game onto the international stage.

Now, his World Cup displays for Norway have dragged him back into the conversation.

“Sander Berge is an interesting one. He’s playing pretty well for Norway in the World Cup,” The Athletic’s Old Trafford reporter Laurie Whitwell said on the Talk of the Devils podcast, underlining that the interest has never truly gone away.

Whitwell pointed out that United had considered Berge before his Fulham move, only to pass as the London club stepped in at £25m. Any deal now would cost more. That is the reality of a player performing on the biggest stage, in a market where even squad players are fetching elite fees.

What Berge offers, and why his name refuses to fade, is clarity. At 28, he is not a speculative project. He is not being talked up as a future Ballon d’Or contender. He is, as Whitwell put it, someone who could “fit into the team straight away.” Not the star. Not the transformer. But a capable, ready-made midfielder who understands the tempo and physical demands of the Premier League and can handle international pressure.

The Athletic’s transfer dealsheet notes that United “previously considered” Berge and could now reignite that pursuit on the back of his World Cup form. For a club trying to balance ambition with financial discipline under INEOS, that profile carries weight.

Scott blocked, Tchouameni complicated, Santos monitored

Berge is not the only name on the table. Far from it.

Simon Stone, BBC Sport’s chief United correspondent, has reported that Alex Scott has climbed to the top of Michael Carrick’s midfield wishlist in recent weeks. Scott, elegant and incisive for Bournemouth, fits the modern hybrid profile United crave.

There is a problem. Bournemouth have made their stance brutally clear to both United and Arsenal: Scott is not for sale. No figure, no negotiation. A hard stop.

That resistance has pushed United to explore other avenues. The Athletic has confirmed that the club are prepared to move for Tchouameni or Santos if Scott cannot be prised away.

Tchouameni, a €100m (£85m) asset at Real Madrid, represents the marquee option. United’s interest is real, but the situation hinges entirely on one man: Jose Mourinho. If the Madrid manager decides to cash in, United are ready to open talks. Until that call is made in the Spanish capital, it remains a waiting game rather than an active chase.

Santos, by contrast, sits in a different bracket. INEOS are showing firm interest in the Chelsea midfielder, and the player would be open to the switch. A deal is expected to cost around £50m, a significant fee but still well below the numbers attached to Anderson and Tchouameni. At this stage, though, United have not yet opened formal discussions with Chelsea. It is interest, not negotiation.

One route appears to be closing entirely. Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha has admirers at Old Trafford, but the German club’s valuation – a massive €120m (£102.5m) – has effectively frozen that idea. In a window where United are already pushing against financial boundaries, that number is prohibitive.

A market of extremes – and a pragmatic pivot

This is the landscape United are trying to navigate: £116m for Anderson, £85m for Fernandes, €120m for Nmecha. Fees that force hard questions about value, squad balance and long-term planning.

Against that backdrop, Berge’s profile starts to make more sense. Proven, affordable relative to the current madness, and immediately usable. He will not sell shirts like a Galáctico, but he might quietly solve problems in the middle of the pitch.

United want a midfielder who can step straight into Carrick’s system, handle the ball under pressure, and add physical presence without disrupting the structure of the squad or the wage bill. Berge ticks enough of those boxes to be back under serious consideration.

Whether United push for the headline move – Tchouameni, should Mourinho open the door – or lean into a more grounded option like Berge or Santos will say a lot about the new regime’s priorities under INEOS.

The market is loud. The prices are wild. Somewhere in that noise, United have to decide what kind of midfield – and what kind of club – they want to be in the seasons to come.