Liverpool have been one of the quieter teams during the current transfer window.
Indeed, the only real piece of business that the Reds have done is to sell Fabio Carvalho to Brentford.
With less than a fortnight to go until the summer transfer window closes, there isn’t much time for Arne Slot to bring in any new faces.
Moreover, the club aren’t known for being panic buyers necessarily, though there doesn’t appear too many rumours flying around as to who the club are interested in, so it may be that the club will have to close deals at the last minute.
Liverpool increase van den Berg sale price
In any event, one player that could soon be on the move is defender, Sepp van den Berg.
He’s unlikely to have a future in Liverpool’s first team, though it appears the club have increased his sale price by £5m after concrete interest from Bayer Leverkusen, according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg.
?? Excl | Bayer 04 Leverkusen have made contact with FC Liverpool about a potential deal for Sepp van den Berg ??
Interest from Leverkusen now concrete after Van den Berg was on their list as reported.
?Been told that Liverpool demand £25m now!
Brentford, also there with… pic.twitter.com/nhUUtOYRvl
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 20, 2024
Playing such a game of brinksmanship at this late stage could end up backfiring, particularly given that the player was available for just £20m a short while ago according to The Athletic (subscription required).
From the player’s own point of view it could be a personal disaster, as both Leverkusen and Brentford could baulk at the uplift in fee, despite it being just a little over the original asking price.
It’s not the done thing to have agreement on a fee, only to then raise it if it appears that an auction will result.
In any event, all of the clubs involved don’t have much time to be able to cross the t’s and dot the i’s, so it’s in all of their interests for the boundaries to be clearly set immediately, and to move forward on that basis.