n n n ‘. concat(e. i18n. t(“search. voice. recognition_retry”),’n
Sepp van den Berg has made four appearances for Liverpool since joining the club from PEC Zwolle for an initial payment of £1. 3m in June 2019.
Kind of. The newest of these came in a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town in an FA Cup replay in February 2020. Still, as part of an academy team led by Neil Critchley, in the absence of Jurgen Klopp’s first team.
Also playing in the 5-0 League Cup quarter-final defeat with Critchley against Aston Villa in December 2019, only two of Van den Berg’s appearances at Liverpool have been for the first team under Klopp.
READ MORE: Arne Slot confirms he will be Liverpool’s next manager as Feyenoord announce his departure
READ MORE: Inside Jurgen Klopp’s final pre-match press conference, a low-key gesture shows the elegance of Liverpool managers
He made his debut as a last-minute substitute against MK Dons, and his only start for the German was in the 5-5 draw against Arsenal in October 2019. Although he is only 17 years old, Klopp is preparing to take over. His last game against the Reds this weekend, that lonely start for Van den Berg came 1,662 days ago.
Although he has also been an unused substitute for Klopp on six occasions, scoring in the first 4 games of the 2022/23 season, the most recent being the 9-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth, he has spent most of the last 3 games and six months on loan. To some, the 22-year-old will be something of a forgotten man.
Indeed, for much of that time, it has been difficult to imagine a long-term career at Liverpool for the Dutchman. He was very raw and fragile when he represented the Reds’ first team in 2019/20, and barely stood out in the U23 Punto before going out on loan.
And while critics were sparkling about his 18-month loan spell at Preston North End, where he was used at right-back rather than his favourite centre-back role, that would possibly have been taken with a pinch of salt by spectators given the Lilywhites’ mid-table championship status.
After all, it’s telling that when Klopp lost Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez to injuries that ended the 2020/21 season, he didn’t once turn to Van den Berg to fill the void. Instead, Nat Phillips, Rhys Williams and Billy Koumetio were called up, while Ozan Kabak was loaned out and Ben Davies was brought in from Preston and Ven den Berg moved in the opposite direction in January 2021.
A full-fledged crusade in the league followed before Van den Berg signed a loan spell at Schalke in August 2022. Still, a serious ankle injury limited him to just nine appearances when the German was relegated from the Bundesliga.
Back on the more sensible German flight on loan with Mainz 05 in July 2023, four years after first signing for Liverpool, his career with the Reds has barely gone according to plan. His fourth transition, likely a permanent long-term exit.
This season, however, Van den Berg has rewritten that scenario. With 34 appearances for a struggling Mainz side and only one game missing through suspension, he still shone to stay out of the Bundesliga relegation zone ahead of the final game of the season. .
He scored in the 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund in December when Klopp’s two former clubs went head-to-head, and also scored a valuable winner against FC Augsburg in February.
Meanwhile, Van den Berg has been an integral component of Mainz as they combined an eight-game unbeaten run after an 8-1 loss to Bayern Munich, adding to a 3-0 home win over Borussia Dortmund last time out.
Despite Mainz’s tricky situation, the Dutchman remains one of Europe’s most notable defenders this season. He is even credited with having featured alongside some of the centre-backs in the continent’s top five leagues.
The figures accumulated through the Comparator showed that Van den Berg has only been beaten by William Saliba (Arsenal), Nico Schotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich) and Van Dijk so far this season. The online player feature comparison page was used. its AI index to locate the most productive centre-backs through their averages, while also ranking the most productive under-23 centre-backs in the top five European leagues across WhoScored. com.
Van den Berg has also reached a top speed of 34. 78km/h with Mainz this season, faster than any other Liverpool centre-back. Such speed would arguably be a wonder for those who saw him play for the Reds for the first time five years ago. Years ago, however, it’s really a useful attribute to have him on his parent club’s classic height line and perhaps an example of what the club’s scouts first saw in him. There are a few years.
In truth, it was only since Klopp announced his decision to step down as Liverpool manager that the concept of Van den Berg working his way up to the Reds’ first team developed.
After all, with Matip’s departure shown at the end of his contract, they will most likely go for a new centre-back. The need for such a player will only grow in the short and long term as well, with Van Dijk set to convert. 33 in July and lately out of contract next summer.
With Arne Slot set to succeed Klopp, it will be attractive to see how the young defender fares with his compatriot in pre-season. Still, Van den Berg is aware that first-team opportunities at Anfield are far from guaranteed.
In January, he told ESPN that he was contemplating another possible move abroad, while in February he admitted to Voetbal Nieuws that he would be looking to leave the Reds if they could not offer him game time.
“I’m targeting overseas more,” he said when asked about Ajax’s past interest. “Without a doubt, England or Alemania. Si now I look away, I also need to move on to Italy or Spain.
“I’ve been active since I was young and, never say never, this summer I’ll be focusing overseas. “
“If I go back to Liverpool, they might need me to stay. If I see that I probably won’t have much time to play, then I might decide to leave. For me it’s vital to play,” Van den Berg said.
“In the last few years I didn’t feel like starting with Virgil. I still don’t know what my chances will be next summer. I think I’m fine. I can bear to play for Liverpool. I can compete. But being a beginner is different. Virgil and (Ibrahima) Konate are not easy to beat.
Of course, this season, Jarell Quansah has shown that he is not about to break into the ranks of Liverpool’s senior centre-backs. And Van den Berg has an added merit when it comes to attracting Slotch’s attention beyond an unusual nationality.
The future head coach of the Reds finished his playing career at PEC Zwolle, before starting his coaching career at their youth academy in 2013.
Van den Berg would then be in the club’s youth ranks, he joined them in 2012, but would only be 12 years old then. If Slot was aware of his talent at such a young age, he would count on his impression on PEC Zwolle when he was a schoolboy.
Regardless, they have shared contacts and a familiar afterlife that can give the defender advantages if he is to forge a long career at Liverpool, with the boss of Slot well positioned to do his homework and thus get references on the defender.
Historically, players have struggled to forge a long-term career at Anfield after being loaned out, but that has to be replaced in recent years under Klopp.
Harvey Elliott is the most glaring example after a loan year with Blackburn Rovers in 2020/21, while Quansah and Conor Bradley were in League One respectively with Bristol Rovers and Bolton Wanderers last year. partial years.
Although it’s unprecedented at Anfield, it’s not impossible. And Premier League rivals Arsenal arguably have the best example and inspiration in Saliba, a player Van den Berg has statistically rivalled this season.
The Gunners signed the Frenchman to a £27m contract with Saint-Etienne in July 2019, to spend the 2019/20 crusade on loan with the then Ligue 1 club. Temporary transfers to Nice and Marseille followed in January 2021 and July. 2021, and Saliba is yet to play for Arsenal at the moment.
But after 91 appearances in two-and-a-half years on loan, the Gunners nevertheless made their debut on the opening day of the 2022/23 season at Crystal Palace, 3 years after joining the north London club. Since then, the 20-year-old has become one of the most productive centre-backs in Europe over the past two seasons.
In fact, Van den Berg has had to be even more patient than the French foreigner and still has a long way to go to emulate Saliba, whether at Liverpool or elsewhere. But the Dutch Under-21 foreigner has made his own appeal. in Germany this season, so it will continue.
Of course, Mainz would love to remain him, according to reports in Germany they have been told that they have no chance if they don’t stay in the Bundesliga. However, despite recommendations of a “pre-negotiated” deal and a “right of first refusal” with Liverpool, Bild admits at this stage that he will most likely return to Merseyside.
If so, you’re in for a new coach and a fresh start. And if Saliba can go from being a “forgotten man” on loan year after year to a Premier League defender, Liverpool are waiting for Van den Berg.