Liverpool’s squad could look a whole lot different under Arne Slot next season.
The Reds look set for a period of transition, with Slot no doubt needing some time to put his own stamp on the team.
The Dutchman will surely have some idea over what he wants his Liverpool squad to look like already. Slot is said to have pinpointed Darwin Nunez as being a key figure, for example.
However, with FSG putting a new structure in place above the head coach, some decisions may find themselves to be out of Slot’s hands.
And while some fringe players will get the chance to impress the new boss in pre-season, it seems others’ fate’s have already been decided.
Liverpool not planning to keep Sepp van den Berg
There are a number of Liverpool players who will be hoping for a fresh start under Slot.
Having been farmed out on-loan, the likes of Fabio Carvalho and Tyler Morton have done well at their temporary clubs and are reportedly looking for a way back in.
Another who has been doing terrifically well away from Liverpool is defender Sepp van den Berg. The 22-year-old has been a mainstay for Mainz and there has been chatter that he could also get a chance next season.
However, speaking to Anfield Index, journalist David Lynch has claimed that Van den Berg is unlikely to be in Liverpool’s plans. Asked about reports of a low release clause being in the defender’s loan contract, Lynch said that he believes that to be the case.
“I absolutely believe that,” said the reporter when asked about the presence of a clause as low as £4.2m. “It does feel low especially because he’s had a really good season over there and I would expect Mainz would want to trigger that, whatever Liverpool’s plans for him are anyway. They’d probably trigger that if it’s that low.
“We haven’t had any confirmation around what Van den Berg wants to do yet so we’ll have to see. But it does seem on the low side for a player who’s done quite well over there.
“It seems a bit of a shame that one but I wouldn’t expect regardless of whether he ends up staying there or not that he’s going to be in Liverpool’s plans in the long-term to honest. But it’s going to be interesting to see if that’s triggered and what the exact numbers come out as.”
Liverpool making mistake with Van den Berg
This really is a shame. Van den Berg has been one of the best young defenders in Europe this season.
With Liverpool on the lookout for a new centre-back this summer, it seems an oversight to allow the Dutchman to leave for such a low price.
Nevertheless, you’d have to say that the insertion of a release clause suggests that Liverpool never had much hope for Van den Berg at Anfield.
While the step back to playing for the Reds may seem like a big one, we think the Netherlands U21 international should be given a chance. He was ‘excellent’ while on-loan at Preston back in 2021, too [Lancashire Live].
If Liverpool let him walk for peanuts this summer, they’ll surely come to regret it in the future.
Clearly, there’s not much they can do now. But we think Van den Berg could make Liverpool pay for this error of judgement.