Wantaway defender tipped to be used as bait for long-term Mo Salah replacement | OneFootball

Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg has been touted as a potential bargaining chip as the club seeks a long-term successor for Mohamed Salah.

Despite interest from Saudi Arabia, it would appear that the Egyptian King will stay at Anfield for at least one more season. However, at 32 years of age and with his contract set to expire next summer, there's no escaping that the club will need to sign a replacement in the short to medium-term future.

According to Liverpool Echo, the club could be looking to make the most of the situation with their wantaway centre-back. The 22-year-old has been attracting interest from PSV Eindhoven, who themselves have a talent the Reds are known admirers of.

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Van den Berg wants regular minutes

Having recently returned to Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre for pre-season following a successful loan spell at Mainz 05, Van den Berg's future remains uncertain.

The Dutchman has publicly expressed his desire to leave in pursuit of regular first-team football and has reportedly requested that Liverpool lower their £20 million asking price so he can finally secure a move away.

Mainz sporting director Christian Heidel even confirmed the defender’s wish to remain with the Bundesliga club, stating, “He definitely wants to stay in Mainz. He has said that very clearly in public.”

Despite interest from Mainz and VfL Wolfsburg, Liverpool have turned down offers that fall short of their valuation, which Van den Berg and his management deem “disproportionately high”, according to reports from the Netherlands.

Liverpool interested in Bakayoko

For the time-being, Liverpool are unwilling to budge on their valuation as their centre-back options are currently limited, with Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate all participating in Euro 2024. As a result, Van den Berg is one of the few recognised first-team centre-backs available for pre-season, alongside Jarell Quansah and Nat Phillips.

However, one potential way to get the Reds to budge on their stance could be a swap deal with PSV Eindhoven.

2024-05-05 PSV v Sparta Rotterdam - Dutch Eredivisie EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS - MAY 5: Johan Bakayoko of PSV celebrates after winning the Dutch Eredivisie during the Dutch Eredivisie match between PSV and Sparta Rotterdam at Philips Stadion on May 5, 2024 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Photo by Broer van den Boom/BSR Agency Eindhoven Netherlands Content not available for redistribution in The Netherlands directly or indirectly through any third parties. Copyright: xBSRxAgencyx

The Dutch side are reportedly willing to accept Van den Berg in part-exchange for Johan Bakayoko. The 21-year-old Belgian winger, who played a key role in PSV’s Eredivisie title win with 14 goals and 14 assists, had previously been identified as a potential long-term replacement for Salah.

Such a swap deal would not be unprecedented for Liverpool. In the past, the club has executed similar transfers, such as the deals involving Andy Robertson and Kevin Stewart (with Hull City), as well as Ki-Jana Hoever and Diogo Jota (with Wolverhampton Wanderers).

More recently, Liverpool negotiated Dominik Szoboszlai’s £60 million transfer from RB Leipzig while arranging a loan move for Fabio Carvalho in the opposite direction.

If PSV can leverage Bakayoko’s potential and Liverpool’s interest in finding Salah’s successor, it may facilitate Van den Berg’s desired exit and overcome the current transfer impasse.

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