Liverpool may have had the perfect Virgil Van Dijk successor, but they chose to sell him

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Liverpool have been struggling defensively this season.

Many fans, pundits, and journalists have all been left baffled by how poorly Ibrahima Konate has performed this season.

The Frenchman has been a walking mistake, with the centre-back being miles off his usual performance levels.

Although the club may still find themselves second in the Premier League table, if their performances carry on like their last three games, they’ll be nowhere near winning any sort of trophy this term.

Arne Slot’s men still have a lot of adjusting to do due to the number of players that have been welcomed through the Anfield doors during the summer transfer window.

However, that isn’t an excuse for their shoddy defensive work, especially after they missed out on signing Marc Guehi in the dying embers of the transfer window.

Despite the Reds being interested in the Englishman, there may have actually already been a player among their ranks who could be of use to Slot at the moment, who the former Feyenoord boss sold.

Sepp van den Berg could have been Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk replacement

With Virgil van Dijk only being contracted to Liverpool until the summer of 2027, it’s clear that another new player or two will need to be brought in, unless his stay is extended, of course.

However, with the bad run of luck that Liverpool have had with defenders this season, such as Giovanni Leoni, it would’ve been nice for them to already have a backup option among their ranks if needed.

This player was Sepp van den Berg.

The Dutchman was brought in from PEC Zwolle for a small fee of £4.4million, and although he only played four times for Liverpool during his stint, now that he’s playing for Brentford, it’s clear that he was ready to take the step up.

The Dutchman was sold to the Bees for a fee worth around £25million, including add-ons, back in 2024, with many thinking that Liverpool had robbed Brentford due to his lack of top-flight experience.

And, while that may have felt like the case last season, this term, things are completely different.

Erling Haaland has praised Sepp van den Berg for his performance against him

Not only is Van den Berg Dutch, but he’s also 6ft 3in and can play as the left or right-sided centre-back.

He has a solid range of passing and, due to his stature and strength, he seems to be causing most Premier League attackers a problem.

He’s helping keep Keith Andrews’ defensive line solid with the club now 16th in the Premier League, just two points ahead of relegation.

And, even though they may have been beaten 1-0 by Manchester City on 5 October, that didn’t stop the goalscorer, Erling Haaland, from singing Van den Berg’s praises after the game.

Of course, only time will tell whether Liverpool will regret selling the 23-year-old, but at the moment, it certainly feels like they could do with another option at the back.

That is, especially since Jarell Quansah was moved on in the 2025-26 summer transfer window.