According to the Echo, Liverpool are expected to confirm the exit of centre-back Sepp van den Berg on loan this week, with the Reds having held talks with a number of sides over a move.
The Echo report that the Reds are close to agreeing a deal that would see the 19-year-old loaned out for the second-half of the season, with Jurgen Klopp and Co. happy to part with the ace despite their injury-stricken centre-back ranks.
Van den Berg, who arrived in a £1.3m deal from Dutch outfit PEC Zwolle in the summer of 2019, has not featured for the first-team at all this season.
The 6ft2 ace has made the matchday squad on just one occasion – the opening League Cup tie against Lincoln City. With that in mind, a loan seems to best for the Dutchman’s development.
The Echo claim that top-flight sides from Belgium and Switzerland have held talks over a loan for the talent, as well as Bundesliga 2 sides – and even interest from Blackburn was noted earlier this month, exciting Liverpool talent Harvey Elliott is currently starring whilst away with the Rovers.
Van den Berg hasn’t featured in the first-team despite the injury crisis at centre-back.
Superstar Virgil van Dijk and starting partner Joe Gomez are out with long-term knee injuries, whilst the injury-prone Joel Matip is on the sidelines again and Dejan Lovren wasn’t replaced this summer.
Those predicaments have led to Fabinho deputising as a centre-back for the foreseeable future, whilst academy graduates Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips have seen first-team action this season.
With 18-year-old Billy Koumetio seemingly above Van den Berg in the pecking order owing to his professional debut – a 45-minute in the Champions League vs Midtjylland – it’s fair to assume that Liverpool’s cover options won’t be impacted by Van den Berg leaving.