
Liverpool
Premier League • England
EIGHT clubs battle for Liverpool star who’s desperate for move, as Arne Slot sent David Moyes warning

German sides want to land a Liverpool player
Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg is now wanted by as many as eight sides, while Michael Owen has given his verdict on how Arne Slot might fare at Anfield.
Van Den Berg has had numerous loan spells away from Liverpool, with the latest being at Mainz during the 2023-24 campaign. The defender quickly established himself as one of Mainz’s best performers after forcing his way into their starting eleven.
Van Den Berg has now returned to Liverpool with a vastly improved reputation. But he has been open about the fact he is looking to leave Liverpool on a permanent basis so he can settle at a new club and start regularly.
Mainz would love to give the centre-back that opportunity, but they will struggle to match Liverpool’s €20million (£17m) asking price.
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This has seen a host of other clubs, some with far more money than Mainz, enter the mix.
Brentford and Southampton are the main English sides interested in Van Den Berg. Mainz’s German rivals Wolfsburg also like the look of him, while Ajax and PSV hope to take Van Den Berg back to the Netherlands.
But according to German journalist Florian Plettenberg, the race for the player has gotten even busier as both Stuttgart and Hoffenheim have joined the pursuit.
Van Den Berg’s representatives have held talks with Hoffenheim to discuss a potential switch. But Stuttgart could soon emerge as frontrunners for the Netherlands U21 international.
Liverpool transfers: Stuttgart enter mix for Van Den Berg
While Stuttgart have yet to enter negotiations for Van Den Berg, they will feel confident about convincing him on a move as they can offer him Champions League football.
Stuttgart incredibly managed to finish second in the Bundesliga last term, ahead of major clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool striker Owen has admitted that Reds fans will be ‘nervous’ that the club might struggle now that Slot has replaced Jurgen Klopp.
When asked about Slot’s Liverpool declining just like David Moyes’ Man Utd did after Sir Alex Ferguson left, the pundit replied: “I fear it’s a possibility for Liverpool, but I hope it’s not and by the time the season kicks off, everyone will be full of optimism again with a new manager, a new way of playing perhaps and one or two signings, but I don’t think there will be wholesale changes. I don’t think he plays in a vastly different way to how Liverpool do at the moment.
“But of course every Liverpool fan will be nervous looking at what happened to Manchester United and Arsenal, even Chelsea, although they didn’t have that consistency for a long time.
“But once it does start slipping it’s hard to get it back, we’re talking fine margins and you need to be an absolutely brilliant team to be competing now.”
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