GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - Wednesday, July 31, 2019: Liverpool's Sepp van den Berg during a pre-season friendly match between Liverpool FC and Olympique Lyonnais at Stade de Genève. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“We’ll see what happens” – Sepp van den Berg unclear on next step at Liverpool

Sepp van den Berg is among the young hopefuls to join the Liverpool squad for pre-season, but the Dutch defender is unclear where his future lies.

Van den Berg is one of 37 players currently on tour of the Far East, having spent the previous 18 months on loan with Championship club Preston.

It was a formative experience for the youngster at Deepdale, as he played 66 times over a season-and-a-half and developed hugely both on and off the pitch.

Whether that translates into a long-term role at Liverpool remains to be seen, though it may have been telling that Van den Berg was one of only two outfielders not utilised during the opening friendly against Man United.

He is part of the touring squad on recommendation from Pepijn Lijnders, but speaking to the club’s official website, the 20-year-old revealed he was yet to discuss his next step with Jurgen Klopp.

“I had a little chat with him about the loan last season. But it’s too early for that,” he said.

“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.”

SINGAPORE - Thursday, July 14, 2022: Liverpool's Darwin Núñez during a training sessional at the National Stadium, Singapore ahead of the Standard Chartered Trophy pre-season friendly match against Crystal Palace. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

In many ways, Van den Berg could be seen as an outsider within the group given he has spent the past year-and-a-half away while the squad has evolved without him.

But the battle for a spot at centre-back is one of the more intriguing subplots during pre-season, with the role of fifth choice seemingly not set in stone yet.

Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams both served as backup to the quartet of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip at points last season, but the pair have been linked with moves away this summer.

So has Van den Berg, with clubs in the Premier League, Bundesliga and LaLiga touted with interest in a loan deal.

But it stands to reason that one of those three would be in line to stay for at least the first half of the campaign, with Klopp wary of a lack of cover following the nightmare of two seasons ago.

Whether that will be Van den Berg is unsure, but he will be looking to use pre-season to prove himself regardless.