Liverpool have rejected a bid for PSV Eindhoven defender Sepp van den Berg, with the Dutchman saying the asking price is too high.
Van den Berg has spent time on loan at Preston, Schalke and last season at Mainz, where he became a first-team regular, making 33 Bundesliga appearances.
The centre-back wants more first-team football and is open to leaving Anfield to get it, which seems likely given Liverpool have the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez at their disposal.
Fabrizio Romano reports that PSV made a bid of around €10m but Liverpool immediately rejected it.
The Reds are thought to want more than double that for Van den Berg, with an asking price of £20m, but the player himself believes that is unreasonable.
“I knew in this market it was going to happen,” Van den Berg said.
“For the price they want for me, hmmm…
“Liverpool probably think that’s right because I had a good season, if they want £20-£25m, that’s too much. Hopefully we can find a way. For now maybe I stay or I can go.”
Van den Berg has been involved in pre-season friendlies so far and is looking to use his chances to impress new boss Arne Slot.
“My first reaction is that it’s quite expensive! That’s a compliment as well. But that makes it difficult, it’s £20m,” added Van den Berg.
“But I’m still a Liverpool player. I’m enjoying it here, really.”
“It’s been a really good pre-season. Of course, a new coach, like a new era starting, new 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 as I said, it’s still early days.
“You never know what can happen, but for me the most important thing is to play.”
Van den Berg came through the youth ranks at PEC Zwolle before joining Liverpool in 2019.
Under Jurgen Klopp, the youngster was frustrated by a lack of game time as he was loaned out three times to Preston, Schalke and most recently Mainz.
PSV Eindhoven could be his new home in the near future, but there is a lot of work to do before things get going.
