As reported via Florian Plettenberg, Mainz’s sporting director, Christian Heidel, is hoping that Sepp van den Berg forces his way out of Liverpool.
It had previously been reported that several Bundesliga clubs were looking to sign the Liverpool defender before the end of the transfer window.
After a successful loan spell at Mainz last season, there is a market for the Dutch defender in Germany.
However, leading the race to sign van den Berg is his previous club, Mainz, but a deal with Liverpool is believed to be difficult to achieve.
The Premier League outfit are demanding no less than €20 million, while the Carnival club have stated that a deal within that price range is not an option for them.
Nevertheless, in order to try and get a deal secured with Liverpool, Mainz’s sporting director, Christian Heidel, is hoping for the defender to put pressure on Liverpool to lower their asking price or agree on a possible loan move.
“We are a bit dependent on FC Liverpool. I know that he would very much like to return to Mainz. Perhaps the player’s voice will play a role in Liverpool’s decision.”
“Of course, it is Liverpool’s legitimate right to put a price tag on the player. But then there has to be a club willing to pay that price, and the player has to want to go there. As of today, that’s not the case, which is why we still have a chance. If Liverpool loans him out for another year, then we are the perfect club. Sepp would confirm that as well. We are waiting a bit longer and preparing ourselves in case it doesn’t work out.”
It is clear to see that the 22-year-old is the 05ers preferred target this summer, but should a deal with Liverpool fail to go through, then Mainz may turn their attention to Mark McKenzie from Genk.
GGFN | Will Shopland
