Sheffield United duo emboldened the boss to make his transfer position clear during talks
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Although Bramall Lane’s coaching staff did not believe Ndiaye was likely to depart mid-season, with this summer always earmarked as the moment when the Senegal international’s future will be decided, there were fears Berge might leave before Tuesday’s deadline after it emerged United had received approaches from two Premier League teams about the midfielder. Having been placed under a transfer embargo by the English Football League, that saw United withdraw the Norway international from the squad which visited Wrexham in the FA Cup on Sunday.
However, The Star understands that Heckingbottom made it clear during conversations with his employers over the weekend he was not minded to backtrack on comments warning that losing either Berge or Ndiaye would weaken United’s chances of winning promotion. After winning 17 of their 28 outings in the competition so far this term, Heckingbottom’s team has prepared for Saturday’s visit to Rotherham ranked second and 12 points clear of third placed Middlesbrough.
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Sources have confirmed the 45-year-old made his position clear after discussing the situation with Berge and to a lesser extent Ndiaye before the trip to north Wales. After being reassured they had no interest in agitating for a move at a critical stage of the campaign, Heckingbottom them relayed their comments to United’s owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud via another senior member of staff.
With neither Fulham or Newcastle, who were interested in capturing Berge on loan, tabling a proposal which would allow Heckingbottom to reinvest, United issued a statement confirming they would not entertain any more offers for Berge.
Crucially, Heckingbottom had also insisted that any final decision on the player’s future must be taken well before the 11pm deadline, answering “yes” to a question from a reporter following the trip to the Racecourse Ground when asked if offloading Berge with “an hour to go” might prove problematic.
Together with Ndiaye, Berge told Heckingbottom he was committed to helping United try and reach the top-flight before Christmas having found himself at the centre of a similar saga during the early stages of the season.