Brentford boss feels his club sealed a STATEMENT signing from Liverpool
Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes his club sealed a ‘statement’ signing from Liverpool this summer. The London side have actually signed two Reds in the window.
Brentford have handed over a lot of money to Liverpool this summer. The most recent lump sum came for Sepp van den Berg, who completed a transfer to the Bees this week.
Van den Berg has been one of the most drawn-out stories of the summer at Anfield. It was clear from the start that he would likely leave Liverpool - especially after a surprising interview in which he accused the Reds of 'hindering' his career.
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Liverpool were always willing to sell but had an asking price set in stone. A club would need to pay at least £20m to get the youngster, which was out of reach for the favourites to land Van den Berg - Mainz and PSV Eindhoven.
Eventually, though, Brentford came in with a fantastic offer. The Reds' patience paid off as they received over £25m for the defender. In fact, Brentford weren't the only club willing to pay that.
Bayer Leverkusen also wanted him, leaving Van den Berg with a big decision to make. Ultimately, though, he decided on Brentford.
Thomas Frank on Sepp van den Berg
Brentford boss Thomas Frank is clearly thrilled with his new player, labelling him a 'statement' for the Bees.
"Very very happy that we managed to sign Sepp van de Berg," said Frank ahead of the meeting with Liverpool on Sunday. "I think he is a great player with an even bigger potential. A good age for a young centre-back that played quite a significant amount of games in the Championship and in the Bundesliga.
“I heard the rumours about Leverkusen, if that is true, then I think it is a statement that players want to come to us over other top clubs and we know that we are interesting because we have a fantastic environment, we have a good team, good club and we are growing. Very happy that he wants to join the ride and the journey and I'm looking forward to having him in the squad."
Van den Berg could certainly go on to be a true statement signing for Brentford. After all, there's a reason Liverpool wanted at least £20m for a player they didn't really intend to use.
That's the level of potential he has - and if he fulfils it, Brentford will have bagged a bargain here.