Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven would reportedly be prepared to break their transfer record to capture out-of-favour Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg.
The 22-year-old is back at Kirkby being put through his paces in pre-season training after a successful loan spell with Mainz 05, where he scored three goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances.
Mainz have been working to bring Van den Berg back to the club permanently, but the German side have so far been unable to match the Reds' asking price, believed to be €20m (£16.9m).
Liverpool's stance has angered the Dutchman, who recently hit out at the Reds for pricing him out of an exit from Anfield, where his contract runs for another two seasons.
In an explosive interview, Van den Berg accused Liverpool of 'hindering' his future, as he has played just four times for the senior team since arriving in 2019, all of which came in the 2019-20 campaign.
© Reuters
PSV 'reluctant' to smash transfer record for Van den Berg
The centre-back has never made a Premier League appearance for the Merseyside giants, who have already lost Joel Matip this summer and could also let Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips leave on permanent deals.
As a result, there may be scope for Van den Berg to compete with Jarell Quansah, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate for minutes under compatriot Arne Slot, but the Reds are also thought to be perusing the transfer market for new centre-backs.
A summer exit for Van den Berg is therefore expected to be the most likely outcome, and even though Mainz are seemingly out of the running, Eredivisie champions PSV are now at the head of the queue.
According to journalist Rik Elfrink, the Dutch powerhouses are reluctant to pay the £16.9m that Liverpool are asking for and want the price to go down by a few million, but they would still be prepared to fork out their highest ever transfer fee.
Mexican attacker Hirving Lozano is currently the most expensive player in PSV history, commanding a €15m (£12.6m) fee to return to the Netherlands from Napoli last year, and PSV are prepared to go "far" to capture number one defensive target Van den Berg.
Liverpool wil zo'n 20 miljoen euro voor Sepp van den Berg. PSV wil dat die prijs met meerdere miljoenen naar beneden gaat en is wel bereid om ver te gaan. Voorlopig blijft Van den Berg het toptarget om de defensie extra te versterken.
— Rik Elfrink (@RikElfrink) July 16, 2024
The 22-year-old cost Liverpool just €1.9m (£1.6m) to sign from PEC Zwolle in the summer of 2019, and he has also been loaned out to Preston North End and Schalke 04 since arriving at Anfield.
Could Van den Berg still have a future at Liverpool?
Having shone for Mainz last term, proving his worth as a competent Bundesliga defender, Van den Berg is the strongest he has ever been in a playing sense and is currently being assessed by Slot on the training pitches.
The pair's Dutch connection naturally begs whether a renaissance could be on the cards for Van den Berg, whose re-integration would also allow Liverpool to focus on other areas in the transfer market, namely a new midfielder, winger and goalkeeper.
However, Van den Berg would surely still be restricted to cup starts, as Van Dijk is expected to stay despite being in the last year of his contract, while Konate and Quansah will battle it out to partner their captain.
Furthermore, Van den Berg made his feelings clear in that bombshell interview, and with regular game time a priority, there is surely no chance of him continuing in Liverpool colours for much longer.
