Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has hinted at Sepp van den Berg‘s involvement at Anfield on Sunday, with the centre-back making his £25 million move in time.
Van den Berg completed his transfer from Liverpool to Brentford on Thursday night, with the Reds landing a major profit on the Dutchman.
Amid strong interest from Bayer Leverkusen and other clubs in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as in the Premier League, the 22-year-old headed to west London.
The deal is worth up to £25 million, inclusive of £5 million in add-ons, though former club PEC Zwolle were owed just over £3 million due to a sell-on clause.
With his move coming days before Brentford head to Anfield for their second game of the Premier League season, it was unclear if Van den Berg would be either eligible or, if so, considered ready.
But speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, head coach Frank said: “It’s possible he will be involved.”
Unsurprisingly, the Dane added that Fabio Carvalho – another player who swapped Anfield for the Gtech earlier this summer – was “definitely in the squad.”
Brentford are without four players for their trip to Merseyside, with left-back Rico Henry (knee), right-back Aaron Hickey (hamstring), midfielder Josh Dasilva (knee) and striker Igor Thiago (meniscus) all out.
Frank would not confirm whether Ivan Toney – left out of the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace last time out amid interest from Saudi Arabia – would be involved or not.
Carvalho could come in for his first start for the Bees, though it is still likely that the £27.5 million signing will begin on the bench.
Meanwhile, Van den Berg should come into contention for a regular starting role at centre-back but Frank’s comments suggest Sunday will come too soon.
Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock and Ben Mee are Brentford‘s other options at the heart of their defence.
The Brentford head coach has often switched to a three-man defence against Liverpool, which could prompt at least one change from the victory over Palace.
Possible Brentford XI: Flekken; Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Roerslev, Janelt, Norgaard, Jensen, Lewis-Potter; Mbeumo, Wissa
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