Talented Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg is set to join Championship side Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan.
According to The Sun, Premier League giants, Liverpool are close to sending another promising youngster, Sepp van den Berg, to Blackburn Rovers on loan to further develop his game, and make a bid for game-time contention.
The 20-year-old joined the Reds from the Dutch side PEC Zwolle in 2019 and was part of the squad that won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. Van den Berg joined Preston North End on an eighteen-month loan in the winter window last year and was able to secure regular game-time at Deepdale Stadium.
Now back at Anfield, van den Berg has a real fight on his hands in search of regular gametime. Jurgen Klopp is blessed with four excellent centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez, all of who are ahead of van den Berg in the pecking order. With Nathaniel Phillips also on the payroll, the young Dutchman is at best the sixth-choice defender on the Reds’ payroll.
Moving out on loan is the best way forward to ensure that the progress he made last season does not go to waste. The Championship appears to be calling once again, this time with Ewood Park as the destination. The Reds will hope that the youngster develops similarly to Harvey Elliott, who went on to enjoy a stellar campaign on loan with Blackburn Rovers in 2020/21.
Liverpool are not just interested in letting the youngster go out on loan but also want to see him reap the benefits from playing regularly. Blackburn are likely to pay hefty financial penalties should van den Berg fail to accumulate the necessary minutes. Should Blackburn accept the terms, it would be an indication of the plans they have in store for the 20-year-old this season.
Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson appears to have a high degree of confidence in van den Berg’s abilities and is keen to land him. The young Dutchman has also attracted attention from Burnley and Bournemouth but is unlikely to be handed a starring role at either club should he opt to move there.
Van den Berg is still raw around the edges and needs to fine-tune his game to stand a chance of succeeding at Liverpool. Elliott proved that a strong stint in the Championship can act as a pathway to breaking into the senior squad at Anfield. It is now the Dutchman’s turn to put that theory to the test.
