Southampton are wasting no time as they look to get their squad Premier League ready.
Russell Martin‘s side only secured their top flight status on Sunday, as they beat Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley in the Championship play-off final.
Whilst the Southampton manager won’t want to rock the boat too much and will place trust in the players that got them to the Premier League, he will be working with Sport Republic to identify key targets for this summer.
The first priority is to try and make both Flynn Downes and Ryan Fraser‘s loan deals permanent, with the pair important cogs in the Southampton machine this season.
However, improvements are needed in other areas, and latest reports suggest Southampton are considering spending £20 million to bring a player of real quality through the door.
Southampton eye Sepp van den Berg
That player is Sepp van den Berg, with the 22-year-old older brother of Middlesbrough’s Rav set to return to Liverpool after a successful loan spell at Mainz.
Van den Berg joined Liverpool from PEC Zwolle in his homeland in 2019 but has made just four appearances for the club.
Therefore, his future looks likely to lay elsewhere – even with Arne Slot replacing Jurgen Klopp this summer – and a report in The Athletic suggests Southampton are keen.
The report states: ‘Brentford and newly promoted Southampton are among his Premier League suitors, while Wolfsburg are viewed as serious contenders in the Bundesliga and Ajax retain a long-standing interest.’
It goes on to suggest that Liverpool believe £20 million to be a fair valuation for the Dutch defender in the current market, so Southampton will have to pay the same fee as they have already stumped up to make Taylor Harwood-Bellis‘ loan from Manchester City permanent.
Sepp van den Berg a ‘beast’ of a centre-back
Van den Berg’s loan club for the 2023/24 season, Mainz, are said to be interested in making the deal permanent but are unlikely to be able to meet Liverpool’s valuation.
The youngster made 33 Bundesliga appearances in an impressive season and has also had loans at Schalke and Preston.
Whilst at Preston, he played alongside a former Liverpool defender in Joe Rafferty, who said of Van den Berg in 2021: “Physically he’s a beast. He’s got all the attributes, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s quick”.
“And not just that, technically he’s really good. That’s probably why Liverpool bought him.
“He eventually wants to be a centre-back and I think he’s got all the attributes to be a centre-back.”
Southampton will face competition for Van den Berg’s signature, but perhaps the offer of a shot at the Premier League that he hoped to get at Liverpool could lure him to St Mary’s.