CHELSEA are said to be interested in signing 21-year-old Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge from Belgian side Genk if their transfer ban is lifted.
The youngster, who is also on Liverpool’s radar, caught the eye of English clubs when he played in the Champions League against Jurgen Klopp’s men earlier this season.
Frank Lampard’s side are currently in the midst of a two-year ban from transfer dealings after they breached FIFA rules in relation to academy players.
But if the Blues do somehow find a way to sign players again then they would be in a strong position to challenge Liverpool and Napoli’s interest for the Scandinavian given they have dealt with Genk in the past with the transfers of Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois.
On Wednesday, a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing will be conducted in Switzerland that could mean Chelsea’s ban is lifted for the upcoming 2020 January transfer window.
However, even if the west London outfit do get their way in a court of law, Genk’s sporting director Dimitri De Conde recently came out to suggest Anfield and Naples remain very strong candidates to snatch up Berge.
He told Radio Punto Nuovo: “Napoli are interested in Sander, it’s a possibility a deal could be done.
We also know that Liverpool are interested and [Jurgen] Klopp, after the game at Anfield (in the Champions League) complimented him on his performance.
There are clubs in Italy who are following Berge and Napoli could be one of them, but at this stage, there are no offers on the table. From next week, things could change. We haven’t had any official contact with Napoli yet.
And Berge, who scored his first goal for Norway against Malta back in September, also hinted that Liverpool are an attractive proposition.
“Playing at Anfield is a dream for everyone in the world, and not least for Norwegians,” Berge told TV2.
“Liverpool are the best team [at the moment] and have the most fans. So I would certainly like to play at Anfield as often as possible.”
