PSV Eindhoven’s deal for defender Sepp van den Berg was rejected by Liverpool, as the Dutchman claimed his own demands were too high.
Despite joining the Reds in 2019, the 22-year-old has only made four appearances for the first squad, all of which have come in domestic cup games.
He has played on loan for Preston, Schalke, and Mainz during the previous campaign, when he was a mainstay in the starting lineup and made 33 appearances in the Bundesliga.
The centre-back is willing to leave Anfield in order to play for Liverpool, which seems plausible given that the team has players like Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Ibrahima Konate, and Virgil van Dijk at their disposal.
The center back wants more consistent first team action. According to Fabrizio Romano, PSV offered “around” €10 million (£8.44 million), but Liverpool turned it down right away.
Van den Berg believes the £20 million asking price for him is unreasonable, but the Reds are rumored to want more than twice that much for him.
He remarked, “I know (high prices) will happen in today’s market.” “For the amount they desire for me, huh…”
‘Liverpool may think it is right as I had a good season, if they want £20-£25million that is a lot more. Hopefully we can find a way. Maybe I stay, maybe I go.
‘The first reaction from me is that it was quite high! It is also a compliment. But it makes it difficult, £20m is majorly high.’
Van den Berg has been involved in pre-season friendlies so far and is trying to use his chances to impress new boss Arne Slot, with a future at Liverpool the ‘dream’ scenario.
‘I’m still a Liverpool player. I enjoy it here, really,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘It’s been a very nice pre-season. Of course, new coach, like new era starts, fresh training, new style of play. I really like it.
‘For me, it’s just about game time and, at the moment, I’m getting it here. So I’m happy at the moment, but like I said, it’s still early. You never know what can happen, but for me the most important thing is playing.
‘If I can do it here, there’s no better place. It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, clubs in the world, so if it’s here, it’s my dream. But for me, the most important thing is playing, so I will see what happens.’