Brentford sign Sepp van den Berg | OneFootball

Brentford has agreed a deal with Liverpool for the transfer of Sepp van den Berg.

The 22-year-old defender has put pen to paper on a five-year contract.

Van den Berg joined Liverpool from Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle in 2019. He made four senior appearances for the Reds and spent time on loan at Preston North End, Schalke and Mainz.

“I’m very pleased that we have managed to sign Sepp,” said head coach Thomas Frank. “I think this is a great signing for the club and the team.

“Sepp is a centre-back with a good level and he has the potential to develop even further.

“He fits our culture and the way we want to play: he is quick, he reads the game well and is composed on the ball in the build-up and in the decisive defending actions.

“Sepp is a great character, and I am convinced that he will fit in well with the group and help us to push forward.”

After progressing through the youth ranks at Zwolle, van den Berg made his first-team debut in March 2018.

Van den Berg made a further 21 appearances for Zwolle before joining Liverpool in June 2019.

He went on to make four first-team outings during his debut season at Anfield, in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and was on the bench for the FIFA Club World Cup final as Liverpool beat Flamengo 1-0 in Qatar in December 2019.

In February 2021, van den Berg headed out on loan to Sky Bet Championship side Preston North End.

He impressed in his 16 appearances and returned to Deepdale for the 2021/22 campaign.

Across two loan spells with Preston, van den Berg made 66 appearances and showed his versatility by playing at both centre-back and right-back.

The next step in the defender's development was in the Bundesliga with a loan at Schalke 04 for the 2022/23 season.

Having played nine games for Schalke in a campaign disrupted by an ankle injury, van den Berg returned to Germany’s top flight for the 2023/24 season, on this occasion linking up with FSV Mainz 05.

Van den Berg played 35 games in all competitions and scored three goals, including an equaliser in a 1-1 Bundesliga draw with Borussia Dortmund.

After accruing 10 caps and three goals for Netherlands Under-19s, van den Berg made his debut for Netherlands Under-21s in a 5-0 win over Wales in October 2021. In total, he has represented Netherlands U21s on eight occasions.