Never able to establish himself at Liverpool, Sepp van den Berg has spent a lot of his time with the Reds out on various loans.
It started in 2021 when he was sent to Preston, with two more spells following, first at Schalke 04 and this season at 1.FSV Mainz 05.
He has established himself as a key player with the Bundesliga side this season, which will have pleased Liverpool greatly, and there is a chance, according to Kicker, that he could be kept beyond this campaign if the stars align.
That’s because the outlet has managed to find out that the Germans have a ‘right of first refusal’ on the Dutch centre-back, which were the ‘possibilities for a longer collaboration’ that Mainz announced when the deal was struck.
However, what doesn’t play in their favour is the fact the ‘financial viability’ of a deal could be jeopardised by the fact the Bundesliga club aren’t having their best season, and even if they do manage to stay up and avoid relegation, they will have to ‘accept cuts in TV money’.
They will want to keep him if possible, since he is ‘increasingly developing into a leading player’ for them, but if Liverpool get an offer they cannot match, the right of first refusal will be a bit pointless.
