Liverpool’s loanee Sepp van den Berg is leading even Virgil van Dijk in a key statistic out of defenders in Europe’s top five leagues.
Over the last few years, Sepp van den Berg has gone under the radar at Liverpool. Probably because he has spent the last three years out on loan rather than at Liverpool.
But soon, Liverpool fans may have to familiarise themselves with his name once again. The 22-year-old has done brilliantly on loan at Mainz this season.
With a fellow Dutchman coming into the club in Arne Slot, at the very minimum Van den Berg should be given a chance in pre-season. Especially, with the numbers he has been posting.
Sepp van den Berg is leading Europe’s defenders
One area where Van den Berg has really stood out in the Bundesliga this season is when it comes to his ability in the air.
The youngster has been solid for Mainz, where he has had to compete in a lot of aerial duels. As per FBref, Van den Berg has actually won the most aerial duels out of defenders in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
Van den Berg has won 169 aerial duels which is more than Bernardo (140) and James Tarkowski (138) in second and third place.
It’s also more than Virgil van Dijk, who ranks fourth in the metric with 134 aerial duels won. Although it’s important to note Van Dijk has attempted a lot less aerial duels than the three players above him. When it comes to aerial success rate, no one can compete with his 82.2%.
Nonetheless, Van den Berg’s numbers are still really impressive. He wins 69% of his aerial duels, which is still a very high number.
Why Van den Berg has a future at Liverpool under Arne Slot
The young defender has always been highly rated by the club. At academy level, Van den Berg definitely caught the eye.
He was labelled as the ‘Next Van Dijk’ when he arrived which definitely didn’t help in terms of expectations.
But in his own way, Van den Berg has progressed a lot over the last few years. With Joel Matip leaving upon the end of his contract, it simply makes sense to give Van den Berg another chance.
