Report: 'Incredibly talented' player Liverpool sold for £20m now wanted by Pep Guardiola at Man City
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Over the years, Manchester City and Liverpool have forged quite the rivalry as they constantly locked horns with one another for the Premier League title.
The personalities of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola added to the magnificence of the fixture, with the German departing Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 campaign after winning seven major trophies at Anfield.
Arne Slot has now taken over the reigns and the Reds are five points clear of the Cityzens at the top of the table.
As club football takes a step back due to the international break, reports suggest Guardiola actually has his eyes on a player Liverpool sold earlier this summer.
Pep Guardiola wants former Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg
Liverpool weren’t too active in the transfer market in terms of outgoings, with Federico Chiesa the only player who walked through the door at Anfield in the summer.
However, Slot did offload a handful of players permanently or on loan, of which Sepp van den Berg was one.
The Dutchman impressed in pre-season but wanted regular game time under his belt, a situation that simply wasn’t possible at Liverpool.
Brentford snapped him up for a fee believed to be in the region of £20m and he has only played a handful of games for his new club so far.
However, Football Transfers report that Guardiola is keeping tabs on the Dutchman, who he has reportedly followed since 2021.
The Manchester City boss is also interested in signing Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, who played a starring role for Xabi Alonso last season.
Liverpool have a sell-on clause
Mainz head coach Bo Svensson labelled Van den Berg 'incredibly talented' after his loan spell in the Bundesliga last season, but the defender is yet to show his class at his new club so far.
Brentford agreed to pay an initial fee worth £20m for Van den Berg, with the Reds owed a further £5m if certain performance-based add-ons are satisfied.
Read More:Sepp van den Berg shares what Virgil van Dijk did that made him feel 'really welcome' at Liverpool
Additionally, there’s also a 17.5 percent sell-on clause, meaning they are set to receive a sizable sum of money if the Dutchman moves to Man City – or any other club – in the future.
Van den Berg didn’t make the grade at Liverpool but the Reds made a huge profit on a player they signed for £4.4m in 2019, so they won’t be losing too much sleep over his summer departure.
