Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg insists he will be happy to remain at Anfield if he receives game time for new boss Arne Slot. That is despite the Dutchman revealing earlier this summer that he wants to leave the Premier League club after feeling that his career was being mismanaged by the Reds.
Van den Berg started Liverpool’s 1-0 friendly victory over Real Betis early on Saturday morning. The 22-year-old has had three loan spells away from Liverpool, including a fruitful year at Mainz last season, and is eager to build on that momentum.
However, Van den Berg has rowed back on his desire to seek an exit, insisting that Liverpool will be the best place to be as long as he gets game time. He told Sky Sports: “I’m still a Liverpool player. I enjoy it here, really,”
“It’s been a very nice pre-season. Of course, new coach, like new era starts, fresh training, new style of play. I really like it
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“For me, it’s just about game time and, at the moment, I’m getting it here, so I’m happy at the moment. But like I said, it’s still early. You never know what can happen, but for me the most important thing is playing.
“If I can do it here, there’s no better place. It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, clubs in the world, so if it’s here, it’s my dream. But for me, the most important thing is playing, so I will see what happens.”
It comes after Van den Berg complained in an interview with De Telegraaf that he felt his career had been mismanaged by Liverpool.
The Netherlands U21 star said: "I knew that I couldn't get from PEC Zwolle [straight] to Liverpool's first team. I could have been at Liverpool for one or two more years, but I wanted to play with all my might.
“I demanded to be [loaned] out. Every time, because I felt that I was getting better and better. I also made great strides physically."
He added: "Just the whole [first] season - on the one hand, that was great. Yes, how does that work, you're 17, 18 years old, you're central to the defence in training against the starting XI, you have to build up and then Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah come running towards you. It was tough, but I enjoyed it. But in all honesty, I wasn't looked after anymore.
"I also felt 'ready' [in 2021]. I had a good conversation with the management. He said he had received good reports. I understood that I wasn't going to play Van Dijk, Matip or Konate out [the team]. But I thought I could be right behind it. When I didn't get a chance again, I said: 'Figure it out, I want to leave.'"
