"To be honest" - Sepp van den Berg on his loan spell with Schalke

Liverpool centre-back Sepp van den Berg has opened up on why he joined Schalke on loan this season.

The Reds are stacked with central defenders (Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate).

With that being the case, Van den Berg opted to join Schalke on loan for the entire 2022-23 campaign.

“To be honest, I already knew during pre-season that I would be loaned out. The chance of playing time at Liverpool is of course small,” he told ELF Voetbal, as quoted by Lancs Live.

“It was nice that I was on the bench for four more games in the Premier League this season. But I learn the most when I play.

“Over the last year and a half I gained a lot of experience at Preston North End in Championship. Just look at my shoulders. I have gained ten kilos, only muscle mass.

“Another year Championship was not my preference.

“I spoke with Burnley, but I still wanted a step higher. The Bundesliga was my preference.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

We completely understand where Van den Berg is coming from. The reality is, the centre-back would have hardly played for Liverpool's first-team this season.

So, going out on loan and playing first-team football for Schalke will only improve Van den Berg as a footballer. The 20-year-old will return to Liverpool a much better footballer.

The reality is, you can only learn so much from the sidelines.

We wish Van den Berg all the best for the remainder of the campaign. Only time will tell if he is to make it at Anfield. We hope for his sake that he does.