Former Schalke coach praises van den Berg - Liverpool loanee an option for the national team?

Sepp van den Berg will face his biggest task of the season when Schalke face Dortmund in the Revierderby on Saturday afternoon. But the game aside, former Schalke head coach Huub Stevens believes that Van den Berg is among the players that can make a big difference in the derby but also across the entire season for die Knappen and could even be an option for the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

“I think sporting director Rouven Schröder has done a fantastic job this summer,” Stevens said as part of a roundtable organized by the DFL ahead of the Revierderby. “Of course, you always want to sign the best players in the world, but the financial situation made that impossible.” 

Nonetheless, Stevens believes that Schröder put together a strong team. “A team that can be competitive and fights off relegation,” Stevens said. When asked which players to watch both in the derby and also throughout the season, Stevens quickly picked out his two Dutch compatriots Thomas Ouwejan (signed from AZ Alkmaar) and center-back Van den Berg. 

Stevens: "Van den Berg interesting for the Dutch national team"

“I am very curious how our new signing Van den Berg will perform in the derby,” Stevens said. “Van den Berg is certainly a player who could also be interesting for the Dutch national team. But before that, he has to grow at Schalke. He is a player who I have been watching for some time, and I told Schalke two years ago to keep an eye on him; he is an interesting player.”

Schalke wanted to sign the center-back from PEC Zwolle, but instead, Van den Berg was sold to Liverpool for €1.9m ahead of the 2019/20 season. There the center-back has played just four games across all competitions.

Liverpool then loaned Van den Berg to Championship side Preston North End in February 2021. Over two and a half seasons, the 20-year-old managed 66 games (two goals and one assist). Ahead of this season, Liverpool believed the young center-back was ready for the next step, and with Schalke looking to strengthen their defense, the club opted to sign the Dutchman on loan for one season. “It is a good thing for everyone involved,” Stevens concluded.