Manchester City are being linked with a shock move to sign ex-Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg.
The Dutch defender has been on Pep Guardiola’s radar for some time and the Citizens are monitoring the player’s progress at Brentford. Van den Berg signed for Brentford in a £20m deal in the summer having struggled to establish himself at Liverpool.
He spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Mainz and ranked in the Bundesliga’s top five players for blocks (1st), clearances (3rd) and aerials won (4th).
According to Football Transfers, Guardiola has tracked the progress of Van den Berg since the defender impressed against City in a 2021 friendly when representing Preston North End. The 6ft 4in defender can operate at centre-back or right-back and is viewed as a potential long-term option to replace Kyle Walker.
Given Van den Berg only moved to Brentford from Liverpool in the summer, a deal is unlikely in the January transfer window but could materialise next summer.
He signed for Liverpool from PEC Zwolle for a fee of £1.3m in 2019 but made just four senior appearances for the Reds. Loan spells at Preston, Schalke and Mainz preceded his transfer to West London during last summer’s window.
