Preston fans love Sepp van den Berg but may soon have to deal with the pain of seeing him playing in a Burnley shirt very soon.
North End took Van den Berg on loan from Liverpool back on deadline day in February 2021.
Sent to Deepdale as part of a deal that saw Ben Davies join Liverpool, and few expected him to really make a lasting impact at North End.
Van den Berg ended up shining though, featuring as a right wing back before Preston renewed his loan for a full season.
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The Dutchman continued to impress last season and looked absolutely perfect for the right-sided centre back role in Ryan Lowe’s 3-5-2 setup.
Talented on the ball, quick and composed, Van den Berg is an outstanding talent and he simply made Preston fans commit the cardinal sin of falling in love with a loan player.
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Preston were never going to be able to buy Van den Berg and he has sadly returned to Liverpool with no route back to North End.
Fans will now be devastated as it looks like Van den Berg is returning to the Championship with one of Preston’s biggest rivals.
Alan Nixon reports that Van den Berg is now on the verge of signing for Burnley, once again leaving Liverpool on loan.
It’s stated that Blackburn Rovers even made an attempt for Van den Berg but it’s Burnley who now appear to have won the race.
Boss Vincent Kompany has ‘made an impressive pitch’ for Van den Berg and a move to Turf Moor is on the cards.
What a blow this is for North End.
We didn’t really expect to see Van den Berg rejoin, but it also feels like another Championship loan is pointless for him.
Van den Berg spent 18 months in the Championship and showed that he is ready for another challenge.
Sure, Burnley are likely to be challenging much higher than Preston this season, but is this really the best thing for Van den Berg’s development?
Either way, seeing him in claret and blue and coming up against Preston will leave some North End fans feeling a little ill.