This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Sheffield United will demand at least £35million in order to sell Sander Berge this summer, according to the Sheffield Star.
The Blades midfielder moved to Bramall Lane last year for a fee of £22million, however with the club since being relegated to the Championship it has alerted a number of clubs to his services.
Arsenal are one of the clubs who are said to be keen, however with a release clause of £35million in place, it means that Mikel Arteta's side will have to fork out to do a deal.
So would a move to Arsenal be a good deal?
The team at FLW have their say...
Chris Thorpe
I think Berge is a superb young footballer and it is completely understandable that the Gunners are keen on signing him.
They need a bit of bite in midfield alongside the likes of Thomas Partey and I think the Norwegian really fits the bill.
The price tag is high but it is something that many will come to expect nowadays as prices continue to fluctuate.
He would slot in nicely alongside Partey as a holding midfielder and would also be the ideal replacement for Granit Xhaka, who appears set to join Roma.
This would be a great move for Arsenal by all accounts and they simply must put all their energy into getting it done.
Ben Wignall
Berge definitely has something about him as a player - he's got the size, athleticism and good technical ability but is he worth £35 million? I'm not sure.
Sheffield United paid about £22 million to bring the Norwegian to Bramall Lane and even though at first some said he didn't really look like he fit into Chris Wilder's system, you could still tell he had class about him.
Being part of a team who were relegated with so little points is never going to reflect well on you but Berge might be able to get away with it as he missed half the season with injury - although he did play in the first 13 matches of the campaign, 12 of which ended in defeat.
It's pretty clear that Sheffield United will probably cash in on Berge - is he the right fit for Arsenal though? Potentially. They're missing something in their midfield and they're also losing Dani Ceballos, who hasn't made a great impact for the Gunners anyway, and getting Berge in there as the one who keeps things ticking could be a good move.
At 23 years old, Berge has development left in him to be a potential Champions League player and if Arsenal or any club are going to spend that kind of money on him then he'd have to make an immediate impact.