Sheffield United preparing to send Sander Berge warning to Championship rivals in promotion race

It's been a long time coming, but Sander Berge is finally realising his Sheffield United potential and it's arriving at the perfect time to help in their bid for a Premier League return.

Ever since joining from Genk in January 2020, the Norwegian international has struggled to find form and consistency during what has been a stop-start career in English football.

Needing time to adapt, Berge was just getting up to speed with the demands of the Premier League when the country went into lockdown for three months.

United returned to action for 10 matches in league and cup before a disrupted pre-season and Berge was again still finding his feet when suffering a serious hamstring injury in December, that would keep him out for the best part of five months.

A second hamstring injury earlier this season and three managers in his time at Bramall Lane so far means he has not been able to enjoy a consistent run of form.

Arriving as a holding midfielder, Berge has always threatened to offer much more higher up the pitch.

The question of how and where to use him in order to get the best out of their £22m investment has been his biggest issue.

In recent games, Berge has been played as an attacking midfielder on the right, using his ability to run with the ball and go past players in a wide position, attacking the full-back and getting in behind.

Also helping to create overloads, which is something we saw when he first arrived under Chris Wilder, who played him in a similar role and we saw the benefits of this when impressing in the wins against Tottenham and Chelsea shortly after returning from lockdown.

With his more natural position being that of a number six, there has always been that temptation to try and play him further back.