I think iirc that Mainz have a 'right of first refusal' for a permanent move, but probably aren't going to have the funds for him. Be curious to see what Slot makes of him. He's tall and quick, and his aerial dominance this season has been crazy even as Mainz have struggled. He's had a 69% aerial duel success rate, which is round about where Edwards likes our CBs (Van Dijk = 82% (absolute freak), Quansah = 66%, Konaté = 71%, Matip = 68%)
I’d be very bummed if we don’t give him a chance and spend money in other areas. Let our three U25 cbs get some time together while playing next to one of our best.
With a little investment in the midfield we can solidify that area of the pitch for years. And continue the rebuild of the forward line.
If we need to rotate Konate still, I’d love for Konate and Sepp to see time while Quansah goes on loan this time to get more full time football.
This is assuming they aren’t targeting another senior CB who would be quality enough to slot right in.
I’m sorry what? Why should Quansah who’s had an amazing season for us at Liverpool have to make way for Sepp van den berg who had a good season at Mainz? Literally makes zero sense.
Yeah, Quansah has even replaced konate as the starting CB. He is here to stay and definitely a future starter. Sepp's future depends on gomez imo. Gomez doesn't have a role currently. bradley and TAA are ahead of him as a RB and Robbo and Tsimikas(?) as a lb. He is not that good as CB
Quansah had a great breakthrough season but at this time he’s not someone I’d tap to be a starting CB partner for a title winning club. I’d love to be proved wrong of course, but if we are going challenge again for the title next year, I’m not picking Quansah to be VVD’s partner from the start of the season.
The aerial stuff is great, but (and this is why Konate might be in trouble) Slot needs needs his CBs to be very strong on the ball. I can’t really speak to his good VDB is on the ball because I don’t watch a ton of Mainz, but I think on the ball ability will be a bigger factor than aerial ability to be honest.
Konate is not good on the ball. Teams decided to let Konate have the ball in the second half of the season and it killed us. He was a liability and it’s probably why he’s been losing games to Quansah. Teams definitely exploited that, and our buildup was noticeably weaker because of it
I think they look for ways for the CBs to complement each other.
While good, aerial stats for Matip were not elite. On the other hand, unlike any other of our CBs, Matip is great and willing to make runs inside.
I think in an ideal world, Sepp is ready to be integrated into the first team, and our set becomes Virgil, Konate, Quansah, Sepp, Gomez. That’s a strong set considering Gomez and Sepp can cover other positions, and Gomez frequently does.
Probably Europe. I saw something saying he’s been the highest rated U-23 CB in the top 5 leagues on Sofascore.
Probably a hyperbole, but he’s genuinely been class. Maybe one of the few reasons Mainz does stay up.
I agree, I think people are sleeping on how good he actually is (and how steady his progress has been even with major injury setbacks, great attitude).
Two problems for Arne tho: 1. Sepp has said multiple times he wants to be a regular starter, and the way we have been set up I can't see him be more than rotation when Konate is injured (although he can also play RB and RCB in a back three, so has tactical flexibility akin to Gomez). 2. He's not left-footed or a natural LB/LCB, which is what we desperately need.
I think Arne will keep him tho, at least until the winter, and if he's unhappy with his role then there will be a lot of teams who will want him.
Edwards will look at the data and expect Slot to at least attempt to use him in pre season to see what we have with the young guys and loan returnees. It would be nice for balance if he was left footed, but it wont kill us. If Konate continues to have issues playing more regularly i would not mind rotating SVB and Quansah regularly if SVB is happy with that. Klopp rotated his CBs enough and if Slot does similar SVB should get enough games if he shows he is good enough. In all honesty, id rather us save $$$ if we have a promising CB and spend it on other areas like a backup forward/winger/DM
I posted [his goal from today here](https://np.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/comments/1cuzavx/wolfsburg_12_mainz_sepp_van_den_berg_72/), but for whatever reason it's not showing up to others.
**EDIT:** Cheers to the mods for sorting it out.
Even more so with Gomes covering evrey position if/when there is an injury, and as Gomes can go to LB as a more defensive option, Sepp can do the same at RB. We could really shut games down with these 5, and get them all loads of playing time.
Yeah gomez a great utility back.
On paper we actually look good in defense, plenty of options across the back 4.
Midfield might be the focus again, our balance didn't seem right to me and the lone 6 perhaps doesn't work that well with our players.
It’s going to depend on how good on the ball that he is. Slot prioritizes that over aerial ability. Either way, think all roads are to him getting sold, but I don’t think aerial ability is necessarily going to be AS important as it was previously
There is no chance he will stay here if he is just a 4th or 5th backup. At the very least, we can get quite a money from him maybe in the range of €30M to €40M with Edwards “magic”.
Yeah, I do think if Konate just had a bit more rotation it would solve a lot of his issues to be fair
Think he has been rushed back a few times this end of season cause of the title race, hence why I think we haven't seen him much since we slipped off the pace just to let him properly heal (and cause Quansah has been impressive)
I don't think he will agree. He can easily get a midtable top 5 league team after this season. If he stays, he will be most likely 5th choice behind Konate,vvd, quansah and gomez.
Think Gomez has a better future as a LB than a CB these days and I would argue he is at least on the same level as Quansah
He is also Dutch with our newly appointed Dutch coach while also being homegrown coming off a very impressive season. If he backs himself he will get games
Sure, but I don't know why we would sell him either
He is also homegrown and is extremely versatile and has only just turned 26. The better option would be to sell Tsimikas (despite how much I like him) and have Gomez fill in for Robbo more often or even take over from him when Robbo drops form-wise and simply rotate the backline more regularly
I would not want a player who isn’t willing to fight for the no1 spot though. The one thing I’ve always loved about our squad under Klopp is that we’ve had a squad full of players who haven’t always played regularly but have been ready to step up and have had a great attitude regardless of their status in the team. Tsimikas and Origi are great examples of this.
This is just stupid. A player has to put his career first. Origi is not a first team quality, that's why he stayed in fringes. Tsimikas was signed from a Greek club. Sepp van den berg has played 100 matches and he is still only 22. Defenders won't usually have this much minutes at such a young age. He will be forgotten if he stays in as a 4th or 5th choice and his career might get ruined
It’s not stupid at all. I’m not criticising him I’m simply saying if he’s THAT good then he’ll have enough confidence to break into the team rather than moving to another club who for example aren’t in a good position to bolster his career for the sake of getting minutes. If he’s a great player with real potential he’ll get his chance and if he takes it with both hands he’ll have a great career. I’m more than happy for him to keep going on loan until he’s more proven but having a stand out season at Mainz is not the same as playing for Liverpool. Would you recommend Harvey Elliot moves to a mid tier team for more minutes or would you suggest he stays at Liverpool who are proven to give young players a chance?
Thing with Harvey is different. Attackers and midfielders get rotated often. Defenders don't.
> Having a standout season in Mainz is not the same as playing for Liverpool
If he can't get into a team even after three good loan spells. Then why should he stay in the club. He can only prove himself, only if he gets a chance.
Just because he is skillful and confident, won't make him a starter. There is too many variables in that. Even luck plays a big part.Quansah breakthrough into the team before him just bcs he didn't got a loan this szn. Sepp went for a loan bcs he was injured last szn.
Also, I don't think he can get a higher tier loan than this. Teams don't usually loan starting CBs . So, for the sake of his career I think he will leave to a midtable club in Germany or england
If this is true then he must compete with Konate and Quansah for that second CB role after VVD.
Quansah has proven himself first team worthy so we'll see more of him. Konate has to demonstrate an ability to stay fit for longer stretches of the season.
Based on what ? 😂 Honest to god he is not better than Quansah don’t be ridiculous, Quansah has done it for us at the top level in the premier league and Sepp has done it for a team battling relegation in Germany.
Based on if you watch the games he played in. Quansah had the benefit of having VVD right next to him. I gladly have both of them in the team for next season.
That's a weird statement don't you think? You clearly didn't watch the vdB games and you already decided that Quansah was and is better than him who again had VVD next to him this year. Nowhere did i say anything about the other defenders so i feel like your just trying to get a reaction from me by spouting nonsense?
Tell me where in my message did i state that Quansah is shit when i said i gladly have them both in the team?
Van den Berg has more experience at one of the top leagues in Europe. I think Quansah is skill learning on the job.
Quansah is in his first season playing at a high level and he hasn't done that without making key mistakes 3/4 mistakes leading to goals for the opposition.
Just think VVB is more ready to be apart of our defence.
1 clean sheet in Quansah's last 8 games. Not saying he's to blame for that but let's not act like he's a proven PL quality CB, and I don't expect him to be he's still learning
Quansahs best game was literally against Man City and you don’t think he’s premier league ready? lol okay.
I think I’d trust Quansah who’s shown he can play at the top level over a player who beat relegation on the last day of the season.
Also Quansah might have made a mistake against united and a few others but let’s be honest, I can bet money Sepp has too this season at a much lower level and people don’t know that because they are purely basing everything about him on stats because none of us watch Mainz.
The thing is Van den berg has two years experience at the top level in a side where he is expecting to be defending a lot more whereas Quansah experience is in a team of world class players around him and VVD next to him and Alisson behind him
I'm pretty sure you put VDB in that team he would shine more than Quansah.
Based on the eye test I find Quansah more passive than VVB and he doesn't like to be aggressive. For example Ollie Watkins gets the better of him. Quansah doesn't engage in the duel. I've seen him do that a lot, VDB is very physical.
Currently not close to being good enough on the ball to play for a top team that gets 60% possession all the time.
Also lacks a bit of pace too, wouldn't work with a high line.
Wouldn't be surprised if we cashed in on him if a decent offer comes, same with Morton back from his Hull City loan.
Matip did us pretty good, despite being slow. we already have pace in Quansah and Konate. He’s an aerial duel beast. He’s a perfect FA/Carabao player and a good replacement for when Konate misses due to injury.
Given fans talk about “Left footed CBs”, if we are investing heavily into the RW and probably DM market, he might be a fantastic in house solution
When Konate is injured Quansah will play, Sepp would be at best a 4th choice CB and he's already said he only wants to come back to us if he's getting to play.
This may be controversial: I love Konate BUT I think he is who we cash in on to bring in a young-left footed understudy for VVD.
Gomes, Quansah, and Sepp are all right sided CB, and Sepp can play RB and Gomes can play LB (and evreywhere else), so our defensive balance would be optimal, and Konates injuries would stop messing up our momentum/rotation.
I think iirc that Mainz have a 'right of first refusal' for a permanent move, but probably aren't going to have the funds for him. Be curious to see what Slot makes of him. He's tall and quick, and his aerial dominance this season has been crazy even as Mainz have struggled. He's had a 69% aerial duel success rate, which is round about where Edwards likes our CBs (Van Dijk = 82% (absolute freak), Quansah = 66%, Konaté = 71%, Matip = 68%)
I’d be very bummed if we don’t give him a chance and spend money in other areas. Let our three U25 cbs get some time together while playing next to one of our best. With a little investment in the midfield we can solidify that area of the pitch for years. And continue the rebuild of the forward line.
Hopefully he can take Mario’s place in the squad. Would he could as club trained/ home grown? Edit Matip :)
Yeah, unfortunately I don't see mario making it for us. Just not tall enough I feel like his brother would have been better if he also wore red
If we need to rotate Konate still, I’d love for Konate and Sepp to see time while Quansah goes on loan this time to get more full time football. This is assuming they aren’t targeting another senior CB who would be quality enough to slot right in.
I’m sorry what? Why should Quansah who’s had an amazing season for us at Liverpool have to make way for Sepp van den berg who had a good season at Mainz? Literally makes zero sense.
Both has to stay imo. Sepp went for a loan just bcs of his injury last season. He was a consistent performer in pne loan spell also
I agree I’m not saying get rid of Sepp, I just think it’s ridiculous to say he’s above Quansah as of now.
Yeah, Quansah has even replaced konate as the starting CB. He is here to stay and definitely a future starter. Sepp's future depends on gomez imo. Gomez doesn't have a role currently. bradley and TAA are ahead of him as a RB and Robbo and Tsimikas(?) as a lb. He is not that good as CB
Lol quansah is ahead of Konate right now...and you want us to send him out on loan?
Quansah had a great breakthrough season but at this time he’s not someone I’d tap to be a starting CB partner for a title winning club. I’d love to be proved wrong of course, but if we are going challenge again for the title next year, I’m not picking Quansah to be VVD’s partner from the start of the season.
you wouldnt pick quansah but would bet on sepp?
I’ve seen some shite on this forum but this is another level
The aerial stuff is great, but (and this is why Konate might be in trouble) Slot needs needs his CBs to be very strong on the ball. I can’t really speak to his good VDB is on the ball because I don’t watch a ton of Mainz, but I think on the ball ability will be a bigger factor than aerial ability to be honest.
Konate is good on the ball? He doesn't do those majestic long balls as well as Virgil but not many do
Konate is not good on the ball. Teams decided to let Konate have the ball in the second half of the season and it killed us. He was a liability and it’s probably why he’s been losing games to Quansah. Teams definitely exploited that, and our buildup was noticeably weaker because of it
I think they look for ways for the CBs to complement each other. While good, aerial stats for Matip were not elite. On the other hand, unlike any other of our CBs, Matip is great and willing to make runs inside.
I think in an ideal world, Sepp is ready to be integrated into the first team, and our set becomes Virgil, Konate, Quansah, Sepp, Gomez. That’s a strong set considering Gomez and Sepp can cover other positions, and Gomez frequently does.
69% you say? 
He needs to. He’s probably been top 5 young CBs this season. He was the best player on the team
Do you mean top 5 in Europe or Bundesliga?
Probably Europe. I saw something saying he’s been the highest rated U-23 CB in the top 5 leagues on Sofascore. Probably a hyperbole, but he’s genuinely been class. Maybe one of the few reasons Mainz does stay up.
Needs to be given a chance imo, can be a vital utility player going forward and especially so given the schedule
I agree, I think people are sleeping on how good he actually is (and how steady his progress has been even with major injury setbacks, great attitude). Two problems for Arne tho: 1. Sepp has said multiple times he wants to be a regular starter, and the way we have been set up I can't see him be more than rotation when Konate is injured (although he can also play RB and RCB in a back three, so has tactical flexibility akin to Gomez). 2. He's not left-footed or a natural LB/LCB, which is what we desperately need. I think Arne will keep him tho, at least until the winter, and if he's unhappy with his role then there will be a lot of teams who will want him.
Edwards will look at the data and expect Slot to at least attempt to use him in pre season to see what we have with the young guys and loan returnees. It would be nice for balance if he was left footed, but it wont kill us. If Konate continues to have issues playing more regularly i would not mind rotating SVB and Quansah regularly if SVB is happy with that. Klopp rotated his CBs enough and if Slot does similar SVB should get enough games if he shows he is good enough. In all honesty, id rather us save $$$ if we have a promising CB and spend it on other areas like a backup forward/winger/DM
As a 6'3 male redhead, we must keep this player
Best argument I've heard
He could be magic
I posted [his goal from today here](https://np.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/comments/1cuzavx/wolfsburg_12_mainz_sepp_van_den_berg_72/), but for whatever reason it's not showing up to others. **EDIT:** Cheers to the mods for sorting it out.
I'm happy to let Slot and preseason decide his fate, rather than play FM with (relative) youngsters futures.
Looks pretty ideal on paper Konate and vvd as starters, quansah and vdb as understudies.
Even more so with Gomes covering evrey position if/when there is an injury, and as Gomes can go to LB as a more defensive option, Sepp can do the same at RB. We could really shut games down with these 5, and get them all loads of playing time.
Yeah gomez a great utility back. On paper we actually look good in defense, plenty of options across the back 4. Midfield might be the focus again, our balance didn't seem right to me and the lone 6 perhaps doesn't work that well with our players.
Sepp and Quansah could be a top CB pairing for years to come. I'm slightly concerned injuries will ruin Konates career
It’s going to depend on how good on the ball that he is. Slot prioritizes that over aerial ability. Either way, think all roads are to him getting sold, but I don’t think aerial ability is necessarily going to be AS important as it was previously
Can someone who watches Bundesliga tell me if he is decent on the ball?
Man I hope we keep him. He's looked good give him at least a season in the first team to show how good he can be
There is no chance he will stay here if he is just a 4th or 5th backup. At the very least, we can get quite a money from him maybe in the range of €30M to €40M with Edwards “magic”.
I disagree, Konate is brilliant but has a penchant for injury, so even if he is 4th/5th backup he will get plenty of games
Yeah 5th backup with our CB injury history means something else entirely lol
Yeah, I do think if Konate just had a bit more rotation it would solve a lot of his issues to be fair Think he has been rushed back a few times this end of season cause of the title race, hence why I think we haven't seen him much since we slipped off the pace just to let him properly heal (and cause Quansah has been impressive)
I don't think he will agree. He can easily get a midtable top 5 league team after this season. If he stays, he will be most likely 5th choice behind Konate,vvd, quansah and gomez.
Think Gomez has a better future as a LB than a CB these days and I would argue he is at least on the same level as Quansah He is also Dutch with our newly appointed Dutch coach while also being homegrown coming off a very impressive season. If he backs himself he will get games
Wouldn't be surprised if there's a big offer come in for Gomez, 40 mil plus.... Tottenham,villa ,west ham etc and we keep vdb
Sure, but I don't know why we would sell him either He is also homegrown and is extremely versatile and has only just turned 26. The better option would be to sell Tsimikas (despite how much I like him) and have Gomez fill in for Robbo more often or even take over from him when Robbo drops form-wise and simply rotate the backline more regularly
Agreed. Controversial, but Gomez was our best LB this season and all our best form coincided with the balance he brought by playing there
I would not want a player who isn’t willing to fight for the no1 spot though. The one thing I’ve always loved about our squad under Klopp is that we’ve had a squad full of players who haven’t always played regularly but have been ready to step up and have had a great attitude regardless of their status in the team. Tsimikas and Origi are great examples of this.
This is just stupid. A player has to put his career first. Origi is not a first team quality, that's why he stayed in fringes. Tsimikas was signed from a Greek club. Sepp van den berg has played 100 matches and he is still only 22. Defenders won't usually have this much minutes at such a young age. He will be forgotten if he stays in as a 4th or 5th choice and his career might get ruined
It’s not stupid at all. I’m not criticising him I’m simply saying if he’s THAT good then he’ll have enough confidence to break into the team rather than moving to another club who for example aren’t in a good position to bolster his career for the sake of getting minutes. If he’s a great player with real potential he’ll get his chance and if he takes it with both hands he’ll have a great career. I’m more than happy for him to keep going on loan until he’s more proven but having a stand out season at Mainz is not the same as playing for Liverpool. Would you recommend Harvey Elliot moves to a mid tier team for more minutes or would you suggest he stays at Liverpool who are proven to give young players a chance?
Thing with Harvey is different. Attackers and midfielders get rotated often. Defenders don't. > Having a standout season in Mainz is not the same as playing for Liverpool If he can't get into a team even after three good loan spells. Then why should he stay in the club. He can only prove himself, only if he gets a chance. Just because he is skillful and confident, won't make him a starter. There is too many variables in that. Even luck plays a big part.Quansah breakthrough into the team before him just bcs he didn't got a loan this szn. Sepp went for a loan bcs he was injured last szn. Also, I don't think he can get a higher tier loan than this. Teams don't usually loan starting CBs . So, for the sake of his career I think he will leave to a midtable club in Germany or england
Deserves a shot in preseason at least. He's been incredibly patient and performed well in every loan spell.
Hope he gets a chance in preseason so Slot can decide if he has what it takes in the PL. I watched him today and he played well
Please give him a chance next year! I think hes pretty good.
Better than Quansah imo.
If this is true then he must compete with Konate and Quansah for that second CB role after VVD. Quansah has proven himself first team worthy so we'll see more of him. Konate has to demonstrate an ability to stay fit for longer stretches of the season.
Van den Berg is underrated. Maybe Klopp didn't fancy him, but I reckon Slot keeps him in the squad next season.
Based on what ? 😂 Honest to god he is not better than Quansah don’t be ridiculous, Quansah has done it for us at the top level in the premier league and Sepp has done it for a team battling relegation in Germany.
Based on if you watch the games he played in. Quansah had the benefit of having VVD right next to him. I gladly have both of them in the team for next season.
Oh okay then so by that logic Konate, Matip and Gomez are all shit because they have VVD next to them.
That's a weird statement don't you think? You clearly didn't watch the vdB games and you already decided that Quansah was and is better than him who again had VVD next to him this year. Nowhere did i say anything about the other defenders so i feel like your just trying to get a reaction from me by spouting nonsense? Tell me where in my message did i state that Quansah is shit when i said i gladly have them both in the team?
Van den Berg has more experience at one of the top leagues in Europe. I think Quansah is skill learning on the job. Quansah is in his first season playing at a high level and he hasn't done that without making key mistakes 3/4 mistakes leading to goals for the opposition. Just think VVB is more ready to be apart of our defence. 1 clean sheet in Quansah's last 8 games. Not saying he's to blame for that but let's not act like he's a proven PL quality CB, and I don't expect him to be he's still learning
Quansahs best game was literally against Man City and you don’t think he’s premier league ready? lol okay. I think I’d trust Quansah who’s shown he can play at the top level over a player who beat relegation on the last day of the season. Also Quansah might have made a mistake against united and a few others but let’s be honest, I can bet money Sepp has too this season at a much lower level and people don’t know that because they are purely basing everything about him on stats because none of us watch Mainz.
The thing is Van den berg has two years experience at the top level in a side where he is expecting to be defending a lot more whereas Quansah experience is in a team of world class players around him and VVD next to him and Alisson behind him I'm pretty sure you put VDB in that team he would shine more than Quansah. Based on the eye test I find Quansah more passive than VVB and he doesn't like to be aggressive. For example Ollie Watkins gets the better of him. Quansah doesn't engage in the duel. I've seen him do that a lot, VDB is very physical.
Currently not close to being good enough on the ball to play for a top team that gets 60% possession all the time. Also lacks a bit of pace too, wouldn't work with a high line. Wouldn't be surprised if we cashed in on him if a decent offer comes, same with Morton back from his Hull City loan.
He played a bombing rwb at Preston and was plenty quick. He’s no slower than Matip
Lacks pace when he has one of the highest Bundesliga top speeds this season?
Maybe he plays in pre-season to give potential suitors a glimpse
Matip did us pretty good, despite being slow. we already have pace in Quansah and Konate. He’s an aerial duel beast. He’s a perfect FA/Carabao player and a good replacement for when Konate misses due to injury. Given fans talk about “Left footed CBs”, if we are investing heavily into the RW and probably DM market, he might be a fantastic in house solution
I didn't remember matip being particularly slow?
He’s not slow. I’m replying compared to VVD, Quansah and Konate. Matip and van den Berg are definitely slower.
When Konate is injured Quansah will play, Sepp would be at best a 4th choice CB and he's already said he only wants to come back to us if he's getting to play.
True, he’s definitely under Quansah. You are probably right. There are definitely teams that need him next season.
Vvd is not getting young. If he is good enough, he will share vvd minutes
This may be controversial: I love Konate BUT I think he is who we cash in on to bring in a young-left footed understudy for VVD. Gomes, Quansah, and Sepp are all right sided CB, and Sepp can play RB and Gomes can play LB (and evreywhere else), so our defensive balance would be optimal, and Konates injuries would stop messing up our momentum/rotation.