https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread"> THREAD: Is Sander Berge https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇳🇴" title="Flag of Norway" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Norway"> the midfield messiah?

He& #39;s been called a successor to Busquets or Kanté. Yet he doesn& #39;t play like either of them. Here are the DMs with the most similar styles from Europe& #39;s top five leagues – a few hard men who can take the ball forward!

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Here are #SanderBerge& #39;s numbers at a Premier League standard. He& #39;s a smarterscout young prospect (https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙇‍♂️" title="Man bowing deeply" aria-label="Emoji: Man bowing deeply">) who always has excellent ball retention. His attacking output has been up lately, too. He& #39;s great in the air in open play and tackling, but his overall defending is so-so.

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And here& #39;s a comparison of his playing style in Belgium and the UEL last season. In the UEL he defended a bit more avidly but still with mediocre quality at a Premier League standard. The constants: he takes the ball forward a ton, links up, and can get into the box.

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Finally, here are smartermaps for Berge, Kanté, and Busquets (the latter two in 2016-17, closer to their peaks as DMs). Kanté covers more ground, Busquets stays more central, and both do more short passing and less dribbling than Berge. Will Berge& #39;s style change so much?

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P.S. For the #FootballIndex crowd, Berge& #39;s price has gone up this season, and there will undoubtedly be more media buzz about him when he gets his move to a bigger league. But there& #39;s a big difference between the next Busquets or Kanté and the next Kondogbia. Any thoughts? https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤔" title="Thinking face" aria-label="Emoji: Thinking face">