The rarely-seen Liverpool talent could and should work his way into contention if Dejan Lovren leaves.
It looks like Dejan Lovren is on borrowed time at Liverpool.
The Croatia international has been linked with a move to various Premier League clubs in recent weeks and Team Talk reported on Monday that Jurgen Klopp had sanctioned his exit.
That report added that Liverpool would sign a replacement for the 30-year-old, despite having Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez in the squad.
But could Klopp instead turn to a player who Reds fans have barely seen since his arrival last summer?
Liverpool Director of Football Michael Edwards brought Sepp van den Berg to Merseyside last June, but it was never with a view toward making him a senior player immediately.
The Dutch centre-back was only 17 at the time and although he’s still only 18, he has been impressing for the club’s Under-23 side this season.
The youngster even has a chunk of senior experience that he can draw from after making three cup appearances – one under Klopp, two under ex-reserves coach Neil Critchley.
Promoting Van den Berg into the first team instead of signing a tried-and-tested replacement sounds like a gamble, and it is, but it’s the same gamble that the German manager took last summer when Rhian Brewster stepped up to be Daniel Sturridge’s replacement, rather than an established striker.
The German manager clearly has a lot of faith in the Reds’ young players.
Liverpool won’t have an easy time replacing Lovren with a big name, because who’s going to join Klopp’s side to sit on the bench?
By promoting Van den Berg, however, the club replace Lovren for free and they bring the youngster a bit closer to where they hope he is for the long term – in the first XI.
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