Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg has spoken about how he feels the club “have not radiated confidence in me all this time” and are perhaps “hindering” his future.
Loan spells at Preston, Schalke and Mainz have meant Van den Berg hasn’t played for Liverpool since February 2020, against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup.
After an impressive season at Mainz, Jurgen Klopp‘s old club, the 22-year-old is now wanting to decide his own career path, probably away from Liverpool despite fellow Dutchman Arne Slot arriving at Anfield.
This Is Anfield understands Liverpool have valued him at £20 million amid interest from Brentford and Southampton.
On the subject of that price, Van den Berg told De Telegraaf that Liverpool “have not radiated confidence in” him but “still want to hinder” his future.
As a 17-year-old, Liverpool signed Van den Berg from PEC Zwolle and kept him at the club for a year, training with the Reds’ formidable Champions League and Premier League winners.
That was to be his only full season at the club, though, before he personally pushed for loan moves to get game time.
The centre-back explained: “I knew for sure that I couldn’t get into Liverpool’s first team from PEC Zwolle. I could have spent another year or two at Liverpool, but I really wanted to play.
“I demanded to be loaned out. Every time, because I felt I was getting better and better. I also made great strides physically.”
Van den Berg even recalled how Jordan Henderson and James Milner had both thought he was ‘ready’ for the first team.
“I also felt ‘ready’. I had a good conversation with the manager; he said he had received good reports,” Van den Berg said.
“I certainly understood that I was not going to displace Van Dijk, Matip or Konate, but I thought I could get behind them straight away.
“When I didn’t get a chance again, I said ‘Work it out, I want to leave again’.”
The report from De Telegraaf claims that “the Dutch top clubs have him on their radar” and “the chance that he will soon report to Arne Slot is small.”
It seems strange that he wouldn’t wait around to see if he carries favour with the new manager, but after three fairly succesful loan spells, it is fair enough that he should want a permanent move.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
