Manchester City are no strangers when it comes to signing players from fellow English clubs.
For instance, City have landed deals to sign the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish among others from a wide range of top-flight clubs in recent years.
While that hasn’t been the case so far in this current summer transfer window, some details have come to light about a top-flight player the Citizens apparently considered making a move for prior to his recent transfer to another Premier League club.
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Journalist says Man City considered Sander Berge move prior to Fulham transfer switch
After Sander Berge completed a £25m move from Burnley to Fulham earlier this week (via BBC Sport), journalist Duncan Castles had this to say about the other possible moves he could have made in a recent episode of The Transfers Podcast.
He said: “We broke on this podcast that Sander Berge was an alternative in that position.
“I’ve been told that [Erik] Ten Hag was quite happy for him to come. But Berge has now gone to Fulham for an initial fee of £20m plus £5m of bonuses that completed last night.
“Interestingly, Berge was also, I’m told, a consideration as a backup to Rodri at Manchester City, which might surprise some people, but the feeling was his style of play would fit a team like Manchester City.
“He had some very significant advocates, shall we say, in Erling Haaland, his Norway teammate, and Vincent Kompany, his previous coach, who were both recommending him to Pep Guardiola.
“City, of course, have now taken Ilkay Gundogan on back from Barcelona without a fee, which is quite a transaction on their part.”
Berge could have been a useful squad player for City
After spending three-and-a-half years at Sheffield United, Berge joined Burnley back in the previous summer transfer window.
Last season saw the midfielder start 34 of the 37 Premier League games he appeared in for the Clarets.
Having played more minutes than any other Burnley player last season, the 26-year-old ended the campaign with more progressive passes (164) and the highest combined total of tackles and interceptions in the squad.
With that in mind and the top-flight experience he has, Berge could have been a useful squad player and a possibly suitable backup option for Rodri, which is an area Danny Murphy recently said City need to strengthen.
