Thomas Frank hails £20m Liverpool signing as a 'great player' ahead of Premier League clash

Brentford boss Thomas Frank hailed the signing of Sepp van den Berg ahead of their clash with Liverpool this weekend.

The 22-year-old completed a £20m move (+£5m in add-ons) this week amid interest from Bayer Leverkusen despite being a prominent member of Arne Slot’s pre-season squad. Early reports from The Athletic claimed he had impressed with his dedication and physicality but the club couldn’t promise him first-team football.

After an impressive season in the Bundesliga with Mainz, he had developed a strong reputation and he has been linked with a move away ever since the summer began. He’s now part of an established Premier League side where he should get to flourish. And Frank, speaking ahead of their clash with Liverpool, hailed the signing. "Very very happy that we managed to sign Sepp van de Berg. I think he is a great player with an even bigger potential. A good age for a young centre-back that played quite a significant amount of games in the Championship and in the Bundesliga.

“I heard the rumours about Leverkusen, if that is true, then I think it is a statement that players want to come to us over other top clubs and we know that we are interesting because we have a fantastic environment, we have a good team, good club and we are growing. Very happy that he wants to join the ride and the journey and I'm looking forward to having him in the squad."

It’s unclear if he’ll be involved in the matchday squad to feature against his former side but there is a chance. Frank didn’t mention it during his press conference but ex-player Fabio Carvalho, who also moved this summer, will certainly be involved after making his debut off the bench last week.

Both transfer deals were certainly profitable for Liverpool given that Carvalho and Van den Berg arrived for a combined fee of near to £10m. The Dutchman arrived from PEC Swolle in 2019 while Liverpool acquired Carvalho from Fulham in 2022. With fees of £27.5m and £20m for the pair, it represents good business and it gives them added reserves for deals in the future.