Sepp van den Berg finalised a loan move to Mainz on Thursday for the 2023/24 season, but the German club hinted at a longer spell in their announcement of the move.
The young Dutchman became the sixth Liverpool player to go out on loan for the upcoming campaign, ready to put an injury-hit season behind him.
Van den Berg played just nine games for Schalke in the Bundesliga last term having seen his season derailed by a serious ankle injury.
He has now returned to the German top flight with one of Jurgen Klopp‘s old clubs, and while Liverpool’s announcement of the deal stipulated a season-long move, Mainz hinted at more.
On their website, they stated that “there is the possibility that his stay at Mainz will be over a longer period of time, the basis for this will remain undisclosed by both clubs.”
Interesting terminology to use as that gives little hint as to whether the loan could be extended, as it was during his time at Preston, or if an option to buy has been discussed.
Van den Berg signed a new deal with the Reds last summer, keeping him contracted at Anfield until 2026.
Thus, Liverpool are in a strong position when it comes to Van den Berg as they can watch his development and assess if there is a future for him on Merseyside, or not.
This season the 21-year-old would have been competing with Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, but the latter is out of contract in 2024.
A new left-sided centre-back is on the wishlist for this summer, and Van den Berg’s best chance of being in contention for a role in the future is to play consistently and to a high standard with Mainz.
It was only last summer that he voiced his dream is to “succeed” at Liverpool, but, for now, his focus will be firmly on playing regularly in the Bunesliga.
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