Manchester United are back to square one with their midfield rebuild after Ederson’s deal collapsed, but a clear target emerged during England vs Norway.
The signing of Andrey Santos was followed by the surprising news that the agreed deal for Ederson has collapsed after questionable medical results of the player.
This leads Man Utd back to square one, having signed one midfielder as the squad has reported back for pre-season.
If the club are serious, they need to immediately explore a move to sign the player who stood apart in Norway vs England.
WHO should Manchester United sign instead if the deal for Ederson has COLLAPSED?
Sander Berge becoming worthy of Man Utd’s midfield rebuild
When the midfield rebuild is discussed, there is acceptance among Man Utd fans that three are needed, of which one needs to be a marquee player.
However, the “marquee” tag is more about the price and reputation than it is about fit and playing style.
Sander Berge’s Norway are out of the World Cup, but he’s left no doubts about the fact that he’s worthy of becoming a part of Man Utd’s midfield rebuild.
After a metronomic performance to beat Brazil, Berge was everywhere again vs England, finishing the game with 114 touches of the ball.
He created two chances and completed a remarkable 102 of his 107 passes, also screening the defence with his positioning and height.
Considering Andrey Santos’ playing style and his fit with Kobbie Mainoo, Berge fits the “PL proven” category of midfielder while also having what Santos and Mainoo don’t.
He’s a perfect deep-lying playmaker with height and physicality to complement Mainoo and Santos’ forward-thinking, box-crashing style of play.
Man Utd don’t need a “marquee” midfielder
Berge is making it so that United don’t actually need a marquee midfielder because they can become more than the sum of their parts.
What is your REACTION to the claims that Manchester United’s deal for Ederson is now OFF…?
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They do need a third midfielder, someone like Manu Kone, but they don’t need to spend £100m on a player on the basis of filling an imaginary “marquee” slot.
A midfield rotation of Berge, Santos, Mainoo, Kone, with Mason Mount and an academy graduate mixed in is more than good enough to handle next season.
That has the perfect profile of combativeness, strength, legs, passing, and scoring, without leaving a particular player exposed to the pressure of a price tag.
Berge is not going to be cheap by any means, but for a fee in the range of Santos, he represents very good value for money.
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