3.07 progressive runs per 90, 4.83 xG: The Sheffield United man who could move to a higher level this summer

Sander Berge showed his class in glimpses in 2021/22 as Sheffield United came a penalty shoot-out away from reaching the Championship play-off final.

The highly rated Norwegian has two years remaining on his contract at Bramall Lane, and will be confident of improving on the numbers that he posted in 2021/22, if he sticks around for another crack at the second tier next term.

The 24-year-old only started 22 of the 46 second tier games in the regular season due to injury and fitness, with fixture congestion making Berge a difficult player to manage for Paul Heckingbottom.

Berge became a more advanced midfielder than was seen in the Premier League, and in tandem with the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Iliman Ndiaye, the Blades posed a potent attacking threat despite an injury crisis in the final third.

Here, we have taken a deeper look at some of the statistics, as per Wyscout, behind Berge’s up and down 2021/22 campaign in this performance in numbers piece…

Berge was very good at finding space to receive the ball in between the opposition’s midfield and defence, particularly in the Blades’ play-off semi final second leg at Nottingham Forest.

This became a theme of his play for the Blades, as he settled into the attacking midfield role that Heckingbottom has carved out for him.

The Norwegian completed 3.07 progressive runs per 90 minutes, and grew in confidence in possession significantly, after proving his fitness at the back end of the season.

Berge’s finishing was impressive, it was just a shame that he was not able to get on the end of more chances, slamming home six goals from chances equating to just 4.83 expected goals (xG).

Berge’s creative numbers reflected a box-to-box midfielder learning their trade further