Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg has seen his opportunities limited at Anfield, and the Dutchman has accepted he may need to move to pastures new next term.
Centre-back Van den Berg, 22, joined the Reds from PEC Zwolle as a teenager. He was handed a Reds debut by Jurgen Klopp during the 2019-20 EFL Cup campaign, playing three times in the run to the quarter-finals, and also featured in the same season’s FA Cup.
The Netherlands under-21 international has made the bench for a number of Premier League matches, but without making it onto the pitch. He has been sent out on loan several times, spending time in the Championship with Preston and the Bundesliga with Schalke and Mainz.
He has been a regular in the Bundesliga this term, scoring the winner against Augsburg last time out. And, while his Liverpool contract runs until 2026, he admitted his future might lie elsewhere.
“If I go back to Liverpool, they might want me to stay,” Van den Berg told Voetbal Nieuws . “If I see that I won’t get much game time, then I might choose to leave. It’s really important to me that I play.
“In previous years, I didn’t feel like I would be starting next to Virgil [van Dijk}. I don’t know yet what my chances will be like next summer. I think I’m doing well. I can handle playing at Liverpool. I can compete. But being a starter is different. Virgil and [Ibrahima] Konate are not easy to beat. I know it will be hard.”
Van Dijk and Konate were the starting centre-back pair on Saturday as Liverpool won 4-1 at Brentford. Joel Matip has also started games in the middle, but the combination of a serious injury and an expiring contract has left his future in doubt.
Van den Berg’s compatriot Cody Gakpo made an impact from the bench in the victory, delivering a goal and an assist after entering at the break. “I think we have to keep the feeling what we have at the moment and just build on that,” the former PSV star told club media after the win.
“Obviously in midweek we have another really important game and then the weekend is also another really important one. I think only important games will come up now. We need everybody and we have to stay focused and fit.”
Gakpo’s introduction came after Darwin Nunez “felt something”, according to manager Jurgen Klopp. The Reds will be sweating on the fitness of the Uruguayan – as well as Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota, both of whom were withdrawn before the break – as they prepare for a league meeting with Luton followed by the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
