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Brentford man Sepp van den Berg had hinted he had to console himself with a move to the club last summer, as they were the only ones who could afford him.

Voetbal Zone have an interview with the 23-year-old today following his first season at the club following a move from Liverpool last summer.

He had decided to move on from Anfield after failing to breakthrough at the club under Jurgen Klopp and, seemingly, failing to convince Arne Slot ahead of his inaugural season.

A small battle for his signature soon broke out over the summer transfer window, with Bayer Leverkusen and former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso showing big interest in him

They, though, were deterred by a big asking price set by the Reds, who were determined to secure a healthy profit on the defender to help their own balance sheet.

The Germans were eventually beaten in the race by Brentford, who spent €23.6m to get him from Liverpool ahead of the competition.

That was a figure Leverkusen never showed a willingness to pay, and Van den Berg admits he had to accept that, having seemingly been very keen on a move to the Bundesliga.

“There was a lot of interest. I had conversations with many clubs. Half of them dropped out when they heard my price tag,” he said.

“In the end, Leverkusen also got involved, but in the end, it was Brentford. I really wanted it, but it also had to do with the fact that only English clubs could afford my price tag.

“They reached out and wanted to get on with it right away, because they knew I was already at an advanced stage with other clubs. Contracts were quickly exchanged, and I had a meeting. It was impressive because you know what kind of player and manager Alonso was and is.

“It was actually between Leverkusen and Brentford. I considered PSV and had a conversation with Peter Bosz. That went really well. He made a big impression on me as a manager. But going back to the Eredivisie… I don’t think I’ll ever do that again.”