Newcastle United are looking at the Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge as a potential late option in this January transfer window.

What's the latest?

Eddie Howe's side seems set to part ways with their midfielder of seven years, Jonjo Shelvey, with the Englishman expected to join Nottingham Forest before Tuesday's deadline.

There is the belief that the Norwegian midfielder is not the only player Dan Ashworth has on his shortlist with Craig Hope suggesting there are multiple players being considered.

Berge has been linked with a potential return to the Premier League since United's relegation with Liverpool believed to have shown an interest back in 2021.

But speaking on the BBC Transfer Gossip Daily podcast, journalist Luke Edwards has suggested bringing in the Championship midfielder would be a strange addition to the squad although they are struggling to find a replacement for Shelvey:

(7:10) "Newcastle will try and bring in a replacement. I think Sander Berge at Sheffield United has been talked about. A bit of a strange one.

"Yeah, bit of a strange one coming from the Championship. My sort of information is that they are struggling to find someone to come in. So Newcastle are also taking a risk."

Need to replace Shelvey

Howe's options in midfield already feel stretched with Shelvey yet to return from an injury which has seen him miss a large chunk of the season so far.

The likes of Sean Longstaff have been given a lot of game time so far this season as Howe's men continue to impress in their quest for a spot in the Champions League.

However, there have been some scares along the way with the most recent being to Bruno Guimaraes who has somehow managed to recover almost instantaneously from what appeared to be a horrific roll of the ankle.

And had the Brazilian been sidelined for a number of weeks or even months through that issue, who knows how big of an impact that could have had on the Toon?

But in Berge, Newcastle could be bringing in a player who (this season) has provided more shot-creating actions and an almost identical number of passes per 90 minutes as Shelvey did when fit last season (via Fbref).

The 24-year-old has enjoyed an impressive campaign in the Championship so far this season with four goals and three assists also to his name.

But as Edwards suggested, seeing Newcastle look to the Championship at this stage in their development does feel slightly strange when they have been linked to the likes of Edson Alvarez already this month.

Money will obviously be a big factor, but with the Blades flying high in second-spot, we do wonder whether this may be a player who Paul Heckingbottom will be looking to keep ahold of this month.