Berge looks like the kind of practical option clubs revisit late in a window.
The report says Chelsea checked his situation but did not make a formal offer. That matters. It points to interest without conviction, or to a deal that was always going to be difficult once Fulham made clear they were not keen to sell.
The bigger issue is that Berge was only one name on a wider shortlist.
That list shows a club surveying different profiles rather than locking onto one answer. It also underlines the uncertainty around the role itself: ball-winner, controller, carrier, or long-term project.
The concern for Chelsea is immediate. The report points to the defeat against Arsenal, when the midfield shortage was exposed badly enough that Reece James and Malo Gusto ended up being used centrally late in the game. That is a short-term patch, not a long-term plan.
Chelsea now have little choice but to manage the position internally and reassess in January. The next storyline is obvious: whether the current options can steady the team, or whether the club are forced back into the market for a specialist midfielder as soon as the window reopens.