Manchester United Pursue Sander Berge as Midfield Rebuild Accelerates
Manchester United’s midfield rebuild under INEOS is gathering pace, and Sander Berge has quietly moved near the top of the notebook.
Having already struck a deal with Atalanta for Ederson Silva, United are not stopping at one reinforcement. The plan is clear: at least one more midfielder through the door this summer, with the recruitment team casting the net across the Premier League and beyond.
Mateus Fernandes of West Ham United is in the frame. Tyler Adams, formerly of Leeds United and now at Bournemouth, is also being monitored. Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest was on the list too, but United have walked away from that one, put off by a £130million asking price that was never going to fly, even in this market.
So attention has turned again. This time to Craven Cottage.
Berge back on United’s radar
According to The Athletic, Fulham’s Norway international Sander Berge is now being “run the rule over” by United’s decision-makers, with INEOS driving the process. It is not the first time his name has been discussed at Old Trafford. United considered a move in 2024 when Berge left Burnley for Fulham, but watched on as the London club struck a £25m deal.
That move has aged well for Fulham. Berge has grown into one of the Premier League’s most reliable defensive midfielders, a steady, imposing presence who rarely dips below a seven out of ten. He reads danger, protects his back line and keeps the ball moving with a calmness that managers crave in a chaotic league.
He has become a regular in Marco Silva’s side and a pillar for Norway, where he is part of the squad heading into the 2026 World Cup. His contract at Fulham runs until the summer of 2029, with an option for an extra year, putting the club in a strong position at the negotiating table.
Fulham would not be inclined to sell cheaply. The Athletic reports they would want to make a profit on the £25m outlay from two years ago. In other words, any United move would not be a bargain hunt; it would be a statement that they see Berge as a core piece of the new midfield structure.
A Liverpool admirer heading to Old Trafford?
There is another twist to this story. It comes from across the divide.
Manchester United and Liverpool remain English football’s great enemies, and United fans may raise an eyebrow when they revisit what Berge has said about Anfield in the past. In November 2019, speaking to TV2, the then-Genk midfielder did not hide his admiration.
“Playing at Anfield is a dream for everyone in the world, and not least for Norwegians. Liverpool are the best team [at the moment] and have the most fans.
“So I could certainly like to play at Anfield as often as possible.”
Those words will not be forgotten on Merseyside, nor in Manchester. They also underline how highly he rated Liverpool during their peak under Jurgen Klopp – and the feeling, at least in footballing terms, was mutual.
After a Champions League meeting between Liverpool and KRC Genk, Klopp sought him out. As quoted in The Athletic on December 31, 2020, the German manager told Berge: “You are an interesting player, a very interesting player.”
That admiration never turned into a transfer, and Liverpool’s midfield has since undergone its own sweeping rebuild. Now, with INEOS reshaping United’s squad, the prospect of Berge anchoring the Old Trafford midfield, despite his Anfield dreams, is firmly on the table.
The question is simple: will United turn long-standing interest into a concrete bid and ask Fulham to name their price for one of the Premier League’s most dependable holding midfielders?
