Chelsea spent the last week or so of the recently concluded summer transfer window looking for a central midfielder having been resigned to losing Enzo Fernandez, with the Argentine international joining Manchester City in a lucrative deal.
According to BBC Sport, the Blues were interested in signing Fulham midfielder Sander Berge before the transfer market in England closed but their approach for the Norwegian international was firmly rebuked by the Cottagers.
Sander Berge was one of Norway’s standout players at the World Cup and has been instrumental at Fulham lately, and Manchester United were also keen on his signing before eventually signing Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba and Youri Tielemans.
Laurie Whitwell had reported that Berge would have expected to cost £40 million had the Red Devils decided to materialise their interest in him and with Chelsea also now keen on him, it will be interesting to see if he is available for sale in January.
Berge an excellent signing for Chelsea
Following Enzo Fernandez’s sale to Manchester City, Chelsea have a major gap in their squad as Moises Caicedo is now injured and Romeo Lavia has also not remained fit for large parts during his career at the club.
In their fixture against Arsenal, the Londoners missed a physical presence in their engine room and could look to replace their former player in January. At that time, Sander Berge would be an excellent addition.
Berge’s strong physique, aerial prowess and ability to win duels is important from a defensive perspective, whereas he is also confident carrying the ball into the final third with his feet to link the defence and offence.
The 28-year-old is in the best phase of his career and would be an ideal replacement for Fernandez at Chelsea, and it will be interesting to see if the Blues reignite their pursuit in the winter transfer market at the start of next year.
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