Preston North End have drawn Liverpool in the Carabao Cup – and that means a problem for defender Sepp van den Berg.
PNE beat Cheltenham Town 4-1 on Tuesday night, booking their passage into the last 16 without much drama.
Liverpool also coasted through, beating Norwich City 3-0 at Carrow Road.
On Wednesday night, the two teams were draw against each other – the final two balls to be pulled out of the hat.
Liverpool loanee Van den Berg now in limbo
PNE have one player on loan from Liverpool with Sepp van den Berg currently at Deepdale.
The Dutchman has become a fan favourite at North End since arriving as part of the Ben Davies deal in January.
Van den Berg starts regularly as PNE’s first-choice right wing back, but there are now fears about his eligibility against Liverpool.
Loan players usually can’t play against their parent clubs in league games. In cup games it’s not quite as clear, and PNE fans have been questioning whether Van den Berg can play.
PNE need Van den Berg permission
Liverpool youth team reporter Lewis Bower has taken to Twitter to claim that Van den Berg could play for PNE against Liverpool.
However, PNE would need to seek written permission from Liverpool to make that happen.
The ball is now in Jurgen Klopp’s court.
On the one hand, Van den Berg would be going up against quality opposition in a game that could aid his long-term development.
On the other, Liverpool may not want to risk Van den Berg playing a part in them being dumped out of the cup – no matter how unlikely that may seem.