Sepp van den Berg has proved to be a very shrewd acquisition for Preston North End over the last 12 months.
Many were rightly sad to see Ben Davies move to Liverpool last year. It was however a wonderful opportunity for him to play for a huge club but one that has yet, and looks unlikely ever, to pay dividends.
As part of the deal, Liverpool sent young Dutchman Sepp van den Berg the other way. The former PEC Zwolle defender has just completed his 50th appearance for North End and is a firm fan favourite. After playing on the right hand side of defence as well as a wing-back he has now settled into his role as a key part of the back three.
‘Never fall in love with a loan player’
Van den Berg gone from strength to strength and it really does seem like he is improving with every game. The 20-year-old is very composed on the ball now, and is comfortable taking the ball out of defence, turning attackers, and progressing up the field. He clearly ‘gets’ the club as well. That’s not easy for someone on loan, especially someone so young. Van den Berg understands the fans connection with the club. He understands what it means to us to support this team and he recognises and appreciates that each game. You can tell what each win means to him as well. With just 16 games of the Championship season left, North End fans are dreading having to say goodbye to Sepp with a return to Liverpool looming.
Sepp, along with Daniel Iversen and Cameron Archer, have all impressed on loan spells. Van den Berg represents the most likely chance of a loan move being converted to a permanent one. Iversen and Archer would simply cost too much at this stage and the latter is firmly in the long-term plans of Aston Villa.
How much would he cost?
Van den Berg joined Liverpool in the summer of 2019 for a fee that could rise to £4.4 million. He’s so far made four appearances for the club all in cup games including a penalty shootout win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. At the time of his signing they compared him to being at the same stage as Joe Gomez was when he joined from Charlton Athletic in 2015. He had a breakthrough season three years later. If Sepp were to be on the same path as Gomez he would be looking to break into the first team in the next season.
Transfermarkt currently suggests the Dutchman’s value is £2.7 million and his contract with Liverpool runs until 2024. Liverpool wouldn’t have had to pay much if any at all of the extras promised in the deal with Zwolle as they would likely be performance related, so they could stand to make a profit if he was sold for that value this summer. They would of course include quite a few performance related clauses in the deal that could see them bring in further money in the future. The market value for Sepp seems about right at the moment, but it would mean Preston would have to break their transfer record to bring him in.
Are Preston willing to spend that much?
It would be worth doing if they can afford to spend such a vast amount of money, as van den Berg’s value will only continue to rise. He could be worth four times that amount in a couple of years time if he continues to progress. Preston’s recent transfers of Ben Whiteman and Emil Riis have seen them approach the £2 million mark, but to pay such an amount on van den Berg could limit Ryan Lowe’s options for further transfers in the summer. Lowe has already brought in Bambo Diaby, and with Patrick Bauer, Liam Lindsay and Jordan Storey also on the books, he may see the need for improvements elsewhere in the squad.
Would Liverpool want to see him leave?
Liverpool clearly had one eye on the future when they brought Van den Berg in as a then 17-year-old. He’s developed at a good rate, and they will be happy to have seen him get a good grounding at Championship level. He also impressed against his parent club in a Carabao Cup tie earlier this season. Liverpool are a team that like to give youth a chance, and players such as Harvey Elliott, Neco Williams and Tyler Morton are just a handful to have seen opportunities handed to them of late. However the competition at the club remains as strong as ever. Whilst they might not want him to leave, does Sepp see a clear path to the first team?
Can he break into Jurgen Klopp’s side?
Liverpool saw an abundance of injuries to their defence last season which hampered their chances of defending the Premier League title. It led to the aforementioned signing of Ben Davies, and also gave chances to Nathaniel Phillips and Preston-born Rhys Williams. The latter is a year older than Van den Berg although didn’t have the best of times on loan at Swansea City this season, with Liverpool recalling him after limited game time. Phillips impressed the most but has also dropped down to the Championship recently with a loan move to Bournemouth.
The Reds brought in Ibrahima Konate for £36 million in the summer from RB Leipzig, but he has only managed seven games in the Premier League so far. Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez remain favourites for Klopp and will be hard to displace. Perhaps Matip could move onto pastures new but the others are likely to have a few more years at Anfield at least. There is the return of Davies from Sheffield United to consider as well.
Liverpool drive a hard bargain
Liverpool have done very well in recent years when it comes to the transfer fee received for players not even in the first-team picture. Dominic Solanke and Jordon Ibe both moved to Bournemouth for fees well into double figures. Looking more specifically at defenders in a similar position to Van den Berg, they sold Ki-Jana Hoever to Wolverhampton Wanderers last season for an initial fee of £10 million according to Sky Sports News. He had only made four appearances for Liverpool, but they would have driven the price up for him as they were buying Diogo Jota from Wolves at the time.
With all things considered, it may be beyond the reach of Preston to sign Sepp van den Berg on a permanent deal this summer, but with his pathway to the first-team looking overcrowded another loan deal could suit all parties involved again.