19-year-old set to move on loan
Liverpool is close to securing a loan move for their 19-year-old Sepp van den Berg.
The central defender joined the Reds for £1.71 million in 2019 from PEC Zwolle after he impressed during his 22 first-team appearances.
Van den Berg was parachuted straight into the senior squad and made four appearances last season, but is yet to play any minutes for Jurgen Klopp this campaign.
He’s fallen behind several Academy defenders, such as Rhys Williams, Nat Phillips and even Billy Koumetio. Van den Berg played fairly regular football three years ago, when he was just 16, as he made 15 appearances for Zwolle in the Eredivisie.
His brother, Rav, is also a defender at Zwolle but is yet to break into the first team. He’s currently part of their U21 squad.
He’ll now hope to gain some important match experience in England with Preston North End. The Athletic has reported that he’ll be sent to Deepdale on loan as part of the deal to bring Ben Davies to Anfield.
Davies looks set to join Liverpool and should be in contention to play in the first-team. The 25-year-old was wanted by Celtic and Burnley, but has chosen to join the Reds and has half a season to make a name for himself.
Van den Berg will want to make a strong impression in the Championship in order to push for a place in the first-team squad next season. The arrival of Davies will bring the number of recognised senior centre-backs back up to four, assuming Joel Matip isn’t sold in the next window.
Other Liverpool transfer news
In other Liverpool transfer news, the club has had a bid for Merih Demiral rejected by his club Juventus. The 22-year-old Turkey international only joined Juve in 2019 but has clearly caught the eye of sporting director Michael Edwards.
Next. Liverpool could swoop for £80 million England star. dark
According to reports, £45 million wasn’t enough for Juventus.