Chelsea and Liverpool ready for Deadline Day battle over midfielder

Cameron Smith

• 28 Jan 2023 15:35 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea and Liverpool are set to do battle over the potential signing of Sheffield United star Sander Berge as they both target midfield upgrades this January.

The two sides are languishing near mid-table in the Premier League standings are poor starts to the campaign, but are looking to rectify this in the market.

Berge, 24, has been linked with a move away from Bramall Lane since the club were relegated from the English top flight in 2021, but a transfer has never materialised.

READ: Caicedo to Arsenal bad news for FIVE players

However, Berge is now wanted by both Graham Potter and Jurgen Klopp, according to reports, with Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom confirming that there is "interest" in the Norwegian international.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie against Wrexham, Heckingbottom said: “I think there’s been interest, and there always is. “You start to hear it before windows and things like that, but there have been no bids.

“All I can do is stress the same things. With the position we’ve got ourselves in, I don’t want anyone to leave. The landscape’s changed with where we are and what we’ve got.

“But from my point of view, if we’re embargoed, it’s even more important they don’t leave. My stance on that won’t change.”

READ: Premier League 2022/23 January transfers: All the Done Deals

Sheffield United have recently been hit with a transfer embargo for breaching EFL regulation 52.2.3, which relates to defaulted payments “due” to another club, meaning they won't be able to sign a replacement if they sell Berge before the end of January.

That could hamper Liverpool and Chelsea's chances of signing him, as the Blades are currently embroiled in a promotion race as they look to re-gain promotion to the Premier League. They are second in the Championship, 12 points clear of third-placed Watford.

January business

Potter's Chelsea have already signed David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, Joao Felix (loan), Mykhailo Mudryk and Nono Madueke this month, while Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku are set to join in the summer.

However, they haven't addressed their issues in midfield. N'Golo Kante and Jorginho are both out of contract in June as things stand, and their pursuits of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have stalled.

Reports suggest talks could re-open with Benfica over Fernandez, but the Portuguese club are demanding that his €120 million release clause must be met. On the other hand, Arsenal are now front-runners for Caicedo, but Brighton have said the Ecuadorian isn't for sale this month.

As for Liverpool, their only January addition so far has been Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven.