Bundesliga promoted FC Schalke 04 strengthened their position with Dutch U21 national player Sepp van den Berg shortly before the end of the change period. According to his own statement, the loan from Liverpool FC decided not so long ago against moving to the Ruhr area.
Despite offers from other clubs, Sepp van den Berg joined FC Schalke 04 for a season at the end of August.
As the centre-back talked to”Eleven Voetbal” now blurted out, a move to the Knappen wasn’t the only option.
In the summer he had also held talks with England’s second division side FC Burnley. “But I wanted to take a step forward, the Bundesliga was my preference,” said van den Berg.
At the second attempt to FC Schalke 04
The young defender had previously gained experience in the House of Commons for a year and a half while playing for Preston North End. Now the time had come to attack in a top European league.
The problem: “To be honest, I knew during the preparations that I would be loaned out. Of course, the chance of playing time in Liverpool is slim,” admitted van den Berg.
Fortunately, FC Schalke 04 got in touch – again. “The club made inquiries a year and a half ago,” the 20-year-old recalled the winter transfer phase of 2020/21. “It was then that I chose Preston North End.”
FC Schalke 04 “a people’s club”
That winter, S04 finally brought Shkodran Mustafi, who had been retired from Arsenal FC, for a short time. Even the ex-national player could not prevent relegation.
Now, after returning to the Bundesliga, the move to Schalke 04 is just right for van den Berg. “I rate the Bundesliga one step higher and Schalke 04 is of course a people’s club in everything. 60,000 and more spectators in the stands at every game, the fans travel everywhere and Schalke also gets a lot of media attention,” he counted reasons for his decision.
Another plus point for the move to Gelsenkirchen is the style of play that head coach Frank Kramer specifies. “The idea that defenders only have to defend and play long balls is outdated. At Schalke, too, we like to build up and play carefully. That was also one of the reasons why I made this decision,” said van den Berg.