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Jurgen Klopp’s comments suggest Sepp van den Berg not on first-team radar

Mathew Nash

Sat 31 October 2020 9:15, UK

Liverpool have certainly found themselves in something of a defensive bind in recent weeks. Virgil van Dijk’s long-term injury has not been helped by knocks to both Joel Matip and Fabinho. Joe Gomez is now Liverpool’s only recognised first-team centre-back. 

The club let both Dejan Lovren and Ki-Jana Hoever leave in the summer and, therefore, youngster Rhys Williams looks set to take the starting berth when the Reds face West Ham United today. 

Jurgen Klopp has also mentioned two other youngsters capable of stepping up into action with the Liverpool first-team. 

“We have Billy the kid (Koumetio) and Nat Phillips too, so these are our boys,” Klopp told his . “Billy wasn’t available but now he is back. They all trained with us and now we have to make a decision.”

However, one name that he did not mention was Sepp van den Berg. 

Liverpool snapped up the young Dutchman from PEC Zwolle last summer for a deal which could rise to a £4.4 million.

Of course, he was predicted to be a player for the future so it is no surprise that he has not yet featured in the Premier League. 

But the 18-year-old did feature in four cup games for the Reds last season, struggling against both Arsenal and Aston Villa in the EFL Cup. 

With such a defensive shortage it would seem plausible that Van den Berg might be in Klopp’s first-team plans but he has instead seen Williams, Phillips, and Koumetio usurp him in the pecking order. 

It seems that Klopp and Liverpool do not currently feel that the young Dutchman is ready to be exposed to the first-team again ahead of the other options on offer and that might be the best move. 

It does not mean the end of the road for the player at Anfield. Instead, he will need to continue improving and impress with the under-23s with the hope of one day finding his way into the Liverpool first-team. 

But being the eighth-choice centre-back in the pecking order for Jurgen Klopp will not be a comforting thought for the youngster at present.