Sepp van den Berg won’t be joining Blackburn Rovers in a piece of news that will be a huge relief for Preston North End supporters.
It’s one thing to fall in love with a loan player and see them return to their parent clubs.
It’s another thing to see them immediately join a local rival.
Preston fans have been living in fear of this happening not once but twice this summer.
Striker Cameron Archer became a fan favourite last season, but with Aston Villa yet to give him considerable minutes, Burnley are looking to take him on loan.
There has also been interest from both Burnley and Blackburn Rovers in Sepp van den Berg, who spent 18 months on loan at North End.
From playing admirably as a makeshift wing back to shining as a right-sided centre back, Van den Berg was simply outstanding in a Preston shirt.
We used to sing about wanting ginger hair just like Joe Garner, but Van den Berg certainly made himself worthy of that same chant.
Seeing Van den Berg return to Liverpool this summer was difficult, but strong rumours linking him with Blackburn Rovers felt like a kick in the teeth.
Van den Berg excelled at Championship level – why send him to another Championship side? It just didn’t seem to make sense from Liverpool’s perspective as much as Van den Berg’s.
Luckily, Preston fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief today as the Lancashire Telegraph report that Blackburn have pulled the plug on a loan deal for Van den Berg.
It’s stated that Rovers had a deal agreed for Van den Berg earlier this month but Liverpool’s injury crisis delayed that move.
Van den Berg is now heading elsewhere though with a loan move to Bundesliga side Schalke believed to be imminent.
That should be a great experience for Van den Berg and trying something new in Germany makes much more sense than a Championship return.
It’s a shame that North End aren’t able to bring Van den Berg back, but it’s now much easier to wish him the best of luck for the season ahead now he’s joining Schalke rather than Rovers!