- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Should we trust England’s referee against the Netherlands after his ‘match-fixing’ conviction?
- A forgotten Liverpool player shone in the club’s pre-season fitness tests
- He has only made four senior appearances for the club in the last five years
A forgotten Liverpool player reportedly won the club’s pre-season fitness test over the weekend.
Since joining the Reds in 2019 as a teenager, he has had three separate loan spells and made just four senior appearances for Liverpool.
However, those not involved at this summer’s Euros and Copa America returned to training over the weekend, including the 22-year-old star.
And Sepp van den Berg made his mark by registering the highest average speed during the club’s fitness tests, according to The Athletic.
Van Den Berg spent last season on loan at Bundesliga club Mainz after previous spells at Preston North End and Schalke, and previously asked to leave Liverpool after accusing them of trying to ‘hinder his future’.
But he has returned to the club this summer, and is set to be handed the chance by new Liverpool boss Arne Slot to prove he has a future at Anfield.
Liverpool are due to fly out to the US on July 23, and will play their first pre-season friendly against Real Betis three days later.
They also have friendlies lined up against Arsenal, Manchester United and Sevilla before their opening Premier League fixture away at newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
Van Den Berg is likely to feature regularly in pre-season due to captain Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate both being away at the Euros.
They will not join up with the Liverpool squad until the final weeks of pre-season, offering Van Den Berg the chance to impress in the meantime.
The Dutch defender may be encouraged by the progress of Jarell Quansah at Anfield last season, with Jurgen Klopp handing the young centre back a significant amount of game time in the second half of the campaign.
Liverpool currently look light at the back following the summer departure of Joel Matip, as Slot only has Van Dijk, Konate and Quansah to call upon, while Joe Gomez is capable of playing across the back four.
Slot is expected to dip into the transfer market for a central defender, but if Van Den Berg can convince him that he is good enough to play at the highest level, this could lead to Liverpool focusing on strengthening in different areas of the pitch instead.