Sepp van den Berg joined Schalke on a season-long loan from Liverpool at the end of August, having completed paperwork for a move elsewhere.
It’s a situation Liverpool have found themselves in in recent years, with every detail of a transfer talking place before the plug is pulled at the last minute.
Nabil Fekir had served on press duties with the club’s staff before a proposed £53m move from Lyon in 2018, only because of a medical hiccup and a late change of demands leading to his collapse.
Now, it appears a similar situation occurred with Van den Berg in the summer transfer window, only for a delay Liverpool signed on a Championship loan to see the deal fall through.
Blackburn director of football Gregg Broughton explained on the club’s official website how close the Dutchman came to joining.
“I think it was public knowledge that he was here, he did his medical, he did his interviews and photographs with the media team,” Broughton revealed.
“Then there was an injury crisis at Liverpool, they weren’t ready to sign that even though everything was done on our end.
Liverpool had received proposals from both Blackburn and Burnley, and although Van den Berg himself has claimed there was no deal with the Clarets, it is clear that a move to Ewood Park was more favourable.
But with Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez suffering physical problems, the 20-year-old was required on the bench for clashes with Fulham, Crystal Palace, Man United and Bournemouth.
By the time Gomez got back up to speed and Matip was back in training, the pieces had moved where Van den Berg and Blackburn were concerned.
“What [the injury crisis] It came towards the end, Liverpool won 9-0 at home and we got the call to say the deal could happen pretty quickly,” Broughton continued.
“However, Schalke sold a player to AC Milan overnight and things moved on again.
“We were not prepared to wait for Sepp to make a decision and we had to act quickly to bring Dom [Hyam] and clinton [Mola] thereafter.
Van den Berg eventually joined Schalke, replacing Malick Thiaw who was on his way to Milan, but Broughton’s comments show a rare transparency in the way transfer negotiations have unfolded.
Blackburn and Liverpool maintain a strong relationship through it all, with Tyler Morton currently on loan at the Lancashire club, following similar deals for Harvey Elliott and Leighton Clarkson.
