Fabrizio Romano: Fulham target in London to complete medical after £25m move 'agreed' as Man Utd deal 'off'

Fulham are close to completing the transfer of Burnley midfielder Sander Berge after agreeing a £25m deal with the Turf Moor club on Monday evening, according to reports.

The Cottagers have been in the market for a new central midfielder and have held talks with Manchester United regarding a move for Scotland international Scott McTominay. Fulham had two bids rejected by the Old Trafford club, with the latest worth up to £20m. However, that deal is now off as Fulham have turned their attention to Berge. Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday that the Norwegian was in London to complete his medical, with the deal worth an initial £20m with a further £5m in add-ons.

Burnley, who were relegated from the Premier League last term, have started the Championship campaign with a bang and sit top of the table after two wins from their opening two games. They beat Luton Town 4-1 away from home in their opening fixture before hammering Cardiff City 5-0 in their first home outing. Berge has yet to feature this season due to a minor injury, but Clarets boss Scott Parker revealed last week he was closing in on a return to training.

“I think he will be back on the grass on Friday, so the weekend [against Cardiff] comes a bit too early for him obviously,” Parker confirmed on Thursday. “He’s been struggling a little bit with a quad injury, but we feel like we’ve got to the right point where we need to be for that. Hopefully he will be on the grass the next couple of days.”

Berge, 26, joined Burnley for a fee in the region of £12m last summer and made 40 appearances in all competitions as the Clarets were relegated from the Premier League. He first moved to England with Sheffield United back in January 2020 as he became the club’s record signing. The Blades finished ninth in the Premier League that season but were relegated the following year.

Berge remained with the club for two seasons in the Championship and helped them earn promotion during the 2022-23 campaign, before making the move to Burnley last August. He played 109 times for the Bramall Lane club. He came through the academy of Norwegian club Asker before moving to Oslo-based side Valerenga. He joined Genk in 2017 and remained there until his move to South Yorkshire.