Newcastle United were interested in signing Sander Berge during the January transfer window, as the Magpies scrambled to bring in a midfielder.
Jonjo Shelvey’s move from Newcastle to Nottingham Forest meant that Eddie Howe needed a replacement, and it appears that his assistant Jason Tindall was the one who identified Sheffield United’s Berge.
According to Yorkshire Live, Tindall was the one who wanted to bring the Norway international to St James’ Park. They state that he was influential in Newcastle’s interest.
That is because Tindall had worked with Berge previously. Before reuniting with Howe at Newcastle, his righthand man was working as a coach as part of Paul Heckingbottom’s setup at Bramall Lane.
They had signed Berge for £22million in January 2020, with the midfielder eventually working with Tindall. And that is reportedly what led to the Toon coach recommending a move to sign him.
Newcastle surely won’t reignite interest in Sander Berge
In the end, a move for the former Genk ace failed to materialise. Newcastle wanted him on loan, but were unable to agree a deal with Sheffield United. It has since been reported that the Magpies were the team that pushed the hardest to sign Berge on transfer deadline day, but to no avail.
Now Newcastle are restarting their search for a centre-midfielder, but it does not sound like Berge is an option anymore. The Athletic recently provided a list of players that are on Dan Ashworth’s radar ahead of the summer, but Berge is not mentioned.
That probably suggests we were right not to sign him, as he would only have been a short-term investment. Instead, Newcastle decided not to panic and are waiting until the summer.
But even if Newcastle aren’t keen, the ‘complete‘ midfielder could be back in the Premier League regardless. That is because the Blades are pushing for promotion and currently sit second in the Championship.
While Berge doesn’t appear to be a Newcastle target anymore, the Magpies are looking at one of his teammates. It has been reported that Toon scouts have been watching Iliman Ndiaye – another player who Tindall will have worked with.