Liverpool have already sold a “complete” Van Dijk heir

Talk of a quadruple’s back. Joy.

Liverpool have been here before, but there’s no denying that things feel a bit different with Arne Slot at the helm. The Dutch tactician has been a revelation in the still-warm seat of Jurgen Klopp.

Six points clear of second-placed Arsenal with a game in hand in the Premier League, finishing first in the opening phase of the Champions League and thus bypassing the extra knockout round, into the Carabao Cup final and awaiting an FA Cup showdown against Plymouth Argyle, there’s every reason to be excited at Anfield.

It’s all to play for, but the Reds know all about the agony of falling within a whisker, of coming within a week of true immortality. As the likes of Virgil van Dijk keep on saying: it’s one game at a time. Then we’ll see.

Van Dijk is leading the charge, and though he’s coy about Liverpool’s chances of silverware, he knows that the Anfield side is in a fantastic position.

However, will it be his final few months as the club captain?

Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool future

Van Dijk – along with Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold – is out of contract at the end of the season. We all know the score by now.

Richard Hughes certainly does. The sporting director will be working tirelessly to reach a breakthrough and ensure that Slot does not lose his lifeblood as an exciting new era begins to hit its stride.

The Liverpool skipper might turn 34 after the end of the season, but he’s the best centre-back in the world and has shown little sign that he’s set to nosedive in the immediate future.

Slot, for what it’s worth, wants to retain his countryman’s services and keep working with him, but Liverpool need to be prepared for any eventuality as kitchen-sink time approaches.

If Van Dijk leaves, Liverpool will need to break the bank on a successor. It’s a shame that a shrewd heir has already been sold.

Liverpool may have sold a shrewd Van Dijk heir

FSG routinely come under the kosh for their perceived hesitance in the transfer market, failing to make the signings that fans want. However, Liverpool have avoided any truly debilitating injuries this term as they skip into the business months.

The first-team squad is balanced and has depth. However, Slot could lose Liverpool’s core chassis before the autumn months are upon us.

That’s why Sepp van den Berg might have been a shrewd option to have been kept on Merseyside, for he is an athletic and skilled defender with plenty of growth still to come before he reaches the apex of his development.

Liverpool have banked plenty over the past few transfer windows, only signing Federico Chiesa and the out-on-loan Giorgi Mamardashvili since Klopp capped his remarkable nine-year run of spending, with Ryan Gravenberch a jackpot signing if there ever was one.

Van den Berg did leave to the tune of £25m, as Brentford met Liverpool’s valuation after weeks of back-and-forth. The Dutch defender, only 23, had excelled on loan with Mainz in the German Bundesliga last season and had been praised by talent scout Jacek Kulig for his “promising and complete” qualities.

Liverpool’s scouting department returned a glowing endorsement of the then-teenage talent in 2019, with FSG authorising the £1m signing of Zwolle’s rising defender.

His value has skyrocketed and there’s no question that Liverpool struck gold from a financial perspective, but Van den Berg has the quality to have made an impact in Slot’s squad, challenging Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah for minutes.

Over the past 365 days, Van den Berg has ranked among the top 1% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues for aerial duels won (4.14) per 90, as per FBref, illustrating his suitability to step into Van Dijk’s boots.

Moreover, he’s proved under Thomas Frank this season that he has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League, starting 19 matches for the Bees since joining.

Quansah, 22, will hope to make the requisite improvements over the coming years that would see him emerge as a starting member of Slot’s project week in, week out, but in Van den Berg, Liverpool might have lost the perfect option.

It’s also worth noting that while Quansah impressed under Klopp’s wing last season, he’s scarcely been used by Liverpool’s new head coach, playing five top-flight fixtures this year and starting just two.

There’s no telling whether Van den Berg would have received more chances to impress had he remained on Merseyside, but given that he’s completed 84% of his passes and averaged five successful duels per Premier League match, as per Sofascore, there’s a good chance that he has the robust and composed approach to the defensive game that Slot covets.

As you can see from the defenders’ contrasted metrics from last season, Van den Berg was outperforming Quansah by a smidge, owing to his rangy and robust style.

Ultimately, Liverpool claimed £25m for a young player who had only made four senior appearances, and thus it’s difficult to say that selling him was a blunder. However, should Van Dijk leave this summer, his might be a signature that was worth keeping around, especially given the strong financial position that FSG are in after several windows of careful planning.