Towering 22y/o who Klopp used just twice could be handed Liverpool lifeline this summer – report | OneFootball

For Liverpool’s key players, pre-season is simply a time to get fine-tuned for the relentlessness of the forthcoming campaign.

For others at Anfield, it could be their golden opportunity to prove themselves and fight for their future at the club. That might well be the case for one man in particular this summer.

According to The Mirror, Sepp van den Berg is ‘expected to be handed the chance’ to impress incoming head coach Arne Slot in pre-season, with a prosperous loan spell at Mainz this term helping his cause.

READ MORE: Jarell Quansah points to ‘crazy experience’ which ‘helped’ with transition into Liverpool’s first team

READ MORE: (Video) ‘This could be 5-5…’ – Troy Deeney expecting goals aplenty in Liverpool v Tottenham

It’s now coming up to five years since Liverpool signed the Dutch defender, who’s made just four first-team appearances for the Reds.

In fact, only 50% of those have actually come under Jurgen Klopp, as two of his outings were in domestic cup matches in 2019/20 when the manager delegated touchline duties to then under-21 boss Neil Critchley.

FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE

However, Van den Berg is set to go back to Anfield this summer buoyed by a season of regular starts in a major European league, having played 32 times and counting for Mainz in the Bundesliga.

Having seen Jarell Quansah successfully make the transition from academy to first team at Liverpool over the past nine months, the Dutchman will aspire to do the same under the incoming Slot, and Joel Matip’s impending exit on a free transfer opens a vacancy for a centre-back in the senior squad.

Now 22 and strengthened by a positive loan spell, the 6 foot 3 defender will surely this summer as his big chance to show that he can make it at Anfield in the long-term, starting with the pre-season tour to USA in July.

🚨 EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Questions Arne Slot must answer at Liverpool, where Amorim went wrong and much more!