Sepp van den Berg confirms Klopp chat amid aim to ‘impress everyone’ upon Liverpool return

Sepp van den Berg is aiming to “impress” Liverpool during pre-season training, but admits it is too early to know what his future holds.

Van den Berg spent the past 18 months on loan away from Liverpool with Preston North End. In total, he made 61 Championship appearances, only missing one league game last season.

His gametime was much better than it had been when he was at Liverpool initially, between the summer of 2019 and January 2021. Indeed, the defender only has four appearances to his name for his parent club.

But he has been back among their ranks for pre-season training this summer. He came on at half-time of their friendly win over Crystal Palace on Friday.

Before that game, the Dutchman opened up to the club’s official website about how he has found his time out on loan, and what the summer and the future hold for him.

On his spell with Preston, the 20-year-old reflected: “I needed it, to be fair – game time again.

“Now I’ve got something to come back here and show what I’ve learned and try to impress everyone. It’s definitely something I needed.

“I was there one-and-a-half years. It was a long time.

“It was great there, I played a lot of games – I think especially for a centre-back it’s important to have game experience. I played against some good teams, a tough league.

“I have definitely grown – in size, that’s one thing! But just everything really. It has been a great loan but now I’m happy to be back.”

Klopp has spoken with Sepp van den Berg

There have been reports that Liverpool could look for a Premier League rival to loan van den Berg to this time around.

Asked if he has discussed any kind of plan with Jurgen Klopp, though, van den Berg said it was too early to know what will come next.

He said: “I had a little chat with him about the loan last season. But it’s too early for that. With so many players, everyone is trying their best to impress and of course to get fit.

“For me now at the moment, it’s really to enjoy. It’s a great experience to be here. It’s a great experience to be back training with the guys as well, of course the level is outstanding. I’ve missed it.

“For me personally now, it’s just try to get back and impress everyone and we’ll see what happens.”

Van den Berg’s contract with Liverpool is due to run until 2024. Only time will tell where he spends the next season and what may follow for the former PEC Zwolle man.

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