‘I can handle’ - Why Liverpool defender might seek a move away despite brilliant form

Sepp van den Berg is unsure over his Liverpool future, despite claiming that he feels ready to handle the level of the Premier League. The defender has been at the club since 2019 after he signed in a deal worth an initial £1.3m from Dutch side PEC Swolle. Since then, he’s spent time at loan at Preston, Schalke and now Mainz, where he’s played 24 times this season, making 19 starts. This weekend saw him net the winner in a tight 1-0 victory over FC Augsburg which was his second of the season. His current Liverpool deal expires in 2026 but four years on loan tells it's own story; he has been able to develop away from Anfield but the emergence of Jarell Quansah has produced another roadblock when it comes to a potential first-team future at the club and claimed that he may have to leave the club. “In previous years, I didn’t feel like I would be starting next to Virgil. I don’t know yet what my chances will be like next summer. I think I’m doing well. I can handle playing at Liverpool. I can compete. But being a starter is different. Virgil and Konate are not easy to beat. I know it will be hard. "If I go back to Liverpool, they might want me to stay," Van den Berg told Voetbal Nieuws, "If I see that I won't get much game time, then I might choose to leave. It's really important to me that I play."

There's the likes of Nat Phillips who has also been stuck in the loan system for years, yo-yoing between joining the first-team squad and leaving the club on a permanent deal. Van den Beg is only 22 and has been in the firing line at a Mainz side fighting relegation this year, which has only helped him develop further. For example, he ranks extremely high in Europe for blocks and aerials won and he recorded the fifth-highest speed for a defender this season in the Bundesliga with a top speed of 34.78km/h.