Sepp van den Berg has departed Liverpool for his second loan move, with the Dutch defender heading to the Bundesliga after 18 months with Preston.
It was a very productive spell for Van den Berg at Preston, but the decision was made for the 20-year-old to return to Merseyside and assess his options this summer.
After brief outings during pre-season, he was named on the substitutes’ bench for the opening four Premier League games, amid Liverpool’s injury woes in defence.
With Joel Matip back in training and Ibrahima Konate on the comeback trail, the club have now sanctioned another loan deal for Van den Berg, this time in the top flight as he heads to Germany.
Van den Berg, who has signed a new long-term contract, will spend the 2022/23 campaign with Schalke, who are back in the Bundesliga after one season in the second division.
The young Dutchman has been expected to follow Tyler Morton to Blackburn this summer with another season in the Championship, but interest from the German side caused a late change of plans.
Schalke are currently 16th in the table and have conceded the second-most goals after four games, presenting an interesting challenge for Van den Berg in a team that will be looking to consolidate their place back in the Bundesliga.
Earlier in the summer it was claimed that Liverpool had received enquiries from clubs in the Premier League, Bundesliga and LaLiga over their No. 72.
And he is now to get his chance at the top level, in what is hopefully a fruitful loan spell for the 20-year-old.
All the best, Sepp!
