West Ham made a £10 million bid for Sander Berge in January, according to Football Insider – an offer that was embarrassingly less than half what Sheffield United eventually paid for the Norwegian.
The Hammers were desperate for more central midfield reinforcements last month.
They did end up signing Tomas Soucek on loan from Slavia Prague, with an option to buy, but it could be argued that they needed far more than just the Czech.
Football Insider claims that West Ham wanted Berge, but were only prepared to pay £10 million for his services. Sheffield United ended up paying more than double that fee for the midfielder.
And the 21-year-old would have been absolutely perfect for them
At 6ft 4in tall, the 20-capped Norway international has a real presence about him, and that is exactly what the Hammers need.
In six Champions League appearances for Genk this season, Berge won an average of 1.8 aerial duals. He made an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 2.2 clearances in those six outings (Who Scored).
At the age of just 21, Berge will surely continue to improve too.
He impressed on his debut for Sheffield United against Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Norwegian won four aerial duals and made six tackles and two interceptions in just 68 minutes of football.
It was the kind of performance that would have left West Ham fans wondering what might have been.