Liverpool defender 'wants to leave' Anfield amid Champions League interest

Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg has reportedly indicated he wants to leave Anfield after receiving interest from a number of clubs around Europe.

The 22-year-old centre-back is back on Merseyside after enjoyed an impressive season-long loan at Bundesliga club FSV Mainz. That was the latest of several temporary moves away from Liverpool as the Netherlands Under-21 international struggled to make himself a regular part of the setup under former manager Jurgen Klopp. After joining the Reds from Dutch club PEC Zwolle during the summer of 2019, Van den Berg made his debut just months later in a Carabao Cup tie against MK Dons before earning a first start in a penalty shoot-out win against Arsenal in the same competition after the two sides had shared ten goals. However, the youngster would make just two more senior appearances during his first season at Anfield and was left to watch on from the sidelines for large parts of the second half of the campaign.

Van den Berg spent the second half of the 2021/22 season and the entirety of the following campaign loan at Championship side Preston North End and made over 60 appearances for the Deepdale club before suffering an injury-hit loan stint with German club Schalke 04 12 months later. However, the Dutch defender enjoyed a more positive temporary spell with Mainz last season and that has reportedly played a key part in his desire to secure a move away from Anfield during the summer transfer window.

Speaking earlier this summer, he told Dutch outlet De Telegraaf: "I had a good conversation with the management. He said he had received good reports. I understood that I wasn't going to play Van Dijk, Matip or Konate out (of the team). But I thought I could be right behind it. When I didn't get a chance again, I said: 'Figure it out, I want to leave. (Liverpool) didn't exude confidence in me all this time, but you do want to hinder my future. I want to keep playing every week and develop myself further. In Germany, I enjoy Dortmund away with 70,000 people, Bayern Munich away against Harry Kane, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Leverkusen, against clubs like that I am challenged every week."

Burnley are said to have shown an interest in Van den Berg in recent weeks - but reports in the Netherlands have claimed PSV Eindhoven ‘intends to strengthen’ their squad with the signing of the Reds defender. Voetbal International have claimed the Eredivisie champions ‘no competition’ in their bid to sign the centre-back because league rivals Feyenoord and Ajax are unable to afford his reported £14m transfer fee and there is also said to be little interest from Bundesliga clubs, despite Van den Berg’s successful stint in German football. The report also suggests the defender has told Liverpool he wants to leave the club and believes his initial asking price is ‘disproportionately high for a contract that will last for another two years’.