Club chief explains why ‘huge’ £20m Liverpool deal did not happen this summer

Liverpool made it clear that they would need £20 million to sell one of their fringe players, the interest certainly dried up from across the Channel.

Those links with Bayer Leverkusen disappeared pretty quickly.

Mainz, having initially expressed their desire to sign Sepp van den Berg after a fine loan spell in which he helped them pull off a dramatic escape from the Bundesliga relegation zone, could not afford him.

As for PSV Eindhoven, it was not merely a case of not being able to meet Liverpool’s demands, but also concerns over what shattering their transfer record would mean for the Dutch champions going forward.

Earnest Stewart – PSV’s sporting director – told Voetbal International that it was simply ‘not possible’ to match the £20 million bid slapped down by Brentford.

Thomas Frank’s side would eventually win the race for the Dutchman’s signature. Brentford took Van den Berg to West London alongside another Liverpool youngster seeking regular first-team minutes in Fabio Carvalho

Liverpool sell Sepp van to brentford

Frans Janssen, the Chief Commercial Offer at the Philipps Stadium, now provides a more detailed explanation as to why PSV walked away from the Van den Berg race.

And it wasn’t quite as simple as Liverpool pricing them out.

“Were the stories about our budget (being) around 25 to 30 million euros true? We never looked at it that way. We know in which positions we need reinforcements, and then we look at which player we think is worth (the money),” Janssen explains on the Rood Wit Podcast

“Many people forget that our most expensive purchase was Chucky (Hirving Lozano). Somewhere between 12 and 15 million euros.”.

Van den Berg, then, would have almost doubled PSV’s previous record transfer fee.

And the 1988 European Champions were concerned that, if they had beaten Brentford to the talented centre-half, other clubs would start demanding vastly-inflated sums when PSV came calling for their players too.

“If we suddenly pay 20 to 25 million euros, that will become the new reality,” Janssen adds. “That really has an impact on the outside world

“If we want to buy a player, we almost always look at what the biggest transfer ever was for that club because you know that they almost never go overboard.

“Then, you can quickly work out whether you can play along (in the negotiations). If we were to suddenly go from 14 to 22 million euros, that would be a huge step.

“Then, every player would be more expensive for us from next year.”

Thomas Frank delighted by Fabio Carvalho start

Despite shining in loan spells at Preston North End, Schalke and Mainz, Van den Berg leaves Liverpool without having ever made a Premier League appearances in five years.

The former PEC Zwolle youngster has already featured in England’s top-flight in Brentford colours, however. Van den Berg earned his Bees bow off the bench during Saturday’s 3-1 win over newly-promoted Southampton.

With the number four on his back, Van den Berg also made his first Brentford start alongside Carvalho during the recent 1-0 EFL Cup victory at Colchester United with Frank hailing a duo who secured Liverpool a near-£50 million windfall.

“I thought Fabio got better and better throughout the game,” Frank told the Shropshire Star. “He got more and more on the ball and started creating. Pleased with his full debut.

“Sepp, also like the rest of the team, for the first 10 minutes had to adjust a bit. But, after that, he stepped up and then he ended at right-back in the last 20 minutes.

“I liked what I saw (from him) as well.”

Club chief explains why ‘huge’ £20m Liverpool deal did not happen this summer