Welcome to the Liverpool.com daily Media Digest. From transfers to tweets, it can be hard to keep up with everything going on in the Anfield sphere. Credible, incredible and anything in between: we round it all up in one place here, taking a sideways look at the day’s media goings-on from around the world.
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Latest Van den Berg setback may be doubly costly
Liverpool center-back Sepp van den Berg has had to withdraw from the Netherlands U21 squad through injury, potentially thwarting the Reds’ summer transfer plan.
Voetbal Primeur reports that Van den Berg suffered a muscle tear in training ahead of the European Championships, which begins for the Dutch with a game against Belgium on Wednesday. Sparta Rotterdam’s Shurandy Sambo has been called to the squad as a replacement.
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The 21-year-old looked poised to be key player for his side, having played the full 90 minutes in the warm-up match against Japan last week. It represents a ‘sledgehammer’ blow for Van den Berg, to use the report’s term, after an injury-hit loan spell at Schalke that saw him miss 20 games and 188 days of action.
And for Liverpool, it may throw a spanner in the works of a proposed move away. As This is Anfield notes, Bild had reported that the Reds had intended to loan Van den Berg out once again, with Schalke and Mainz both interested.
But if this injury is serious, those clubs may walk away, and even if it isn’t, his recent fitness woes will no doubt be cause for serious concern among any suitors.
Van de Ven to cost $20m
Liverpool center-back target Micky van de Ven is valued at just $20m (£15m/€18m) by Wolfsburg, according to Bild journalist Christian Falk (writing for Caught Offside).
The Reds are apparently considering a bid for the 22-year-old, who may come with the recommendation of sporting director Jörg Schmadtke after his recent stint at the Volkswagen Arena.
Van de Ven, who incidentally had looked set to be Van den Berg’s partner for the Netherlands, made 33 Bundesliga appearances for Wolfsburg last season and has four years left on his contract.
The defender has said recently (via Sport Witness) that he would like to leave the club this summer if given the opportunity and that he’s aware of reports linking him to a ‘great club’ in Liverpool (via The Mirror).
This comes after a visit to Anfield to watch the Reds face Arsenal back in 2018, which saw him left with ‘goosebumps’ when he heard ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ (via the ECHO).