Jurgen Klopp left an everlasting legacy at Liverpool Football Club. It was confirmed at the backend of last season that he would depart the club after nine campaigns in charge, leaving one of the greatest modern-day legacies in English football.
He managed just short of 500 games for the Reds, taking charge of 489 in total. In that time, the German boss won 304 games, drew 100 and lost 85, an impressive record over such a large space of time. He also won eight trophies, including the Champions League and the club’s first-ever Premier League.
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His replacement, Arne Slot, has been superb as Liverpool boss so far, with his side top of the Premier League. However, things were not made easy in the summer, with minimal signings made.
Liverpool’s 2024 summer transfer window
It was certainly a strange summer transfer window at Anfield. Normally, when a new manager takes over at a club, there is an influx of new signings and sales to help shape the squad exactly to their preference.
Surprisingly, that was not the case for Slot at Liverpool. The Reds made two notable signings and two notable sales. There is a caveat to that, with one of the new additions not actually joining until next summer. Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili signed from Valencia but stayed at the Spanish giants for an extra season.
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The other incoming at Anfield over the summer was Italian winger Federico Chiesa. He cost the Reds for just £12.5m including add-ons, but has had a terrible time with injury.
The 27-year-old has played just three times in all competitions so far. However, if he can get fit, his quality is undeniable.
There were some major sales at Anfield, too. Arguably the biggest name to depart the club was Fabio Carvalho. He made the move to London, joining Brentford for £27.5m, representing some good business from Liverpool.
The other sale was perhaps even better business for the Reds and represented an incredible profit for the Merseysiders. That man is Sepp van den Berg.
The profit Liverpool made on Van den Berg
Young Dutch defender Van den Berg made the move to Anfield from PEC Zwolle in the summer of 2019 for a fee in the region of £1.3m.
He was lauded by Klopp when he made the move to Anfield. The legendary German boss described him as an “outstanding talent” during preseason in 2019.
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Market Movers
Market Movers
Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?
However, things did not really work out so simply for the young defender on Merseyside. In total, he managed just four appearances for the club, none of which came in the Premier League. He never really managed to play a part in the first team.
However, there were several loan spells for the youngster during his time at the club. He enjoyed temporary spells at Championship side Preston North End, and German clubs Schalke and Mainz, the latter a club whom Klopp once managed.
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Over the summer, Thomas Frank’s Brentford came calling, ten days after they acquired the services of Carvalho. Van den Berg moved to the Bees for £25m including add-ons, with a sell-on percentage of 17.5% included.
That is impressive work from the Reds, especially when factoring in the fee they paid, just £1.3m. That leaves them with an 1823.08% increase on the deal overall, factoring in add-ons Brentford could pay.
The young centre-back has impressed for the Bees so far. He has started 12 out of the 13 games he has played so far and has statistically caught the eye. There are not many statistical differences between Van den Berg and Virgil van Dijk according to Squawka.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk-1
For example, the Brentford man wins 3.1 aerial duels per game, compared to 3.3 for Van Dijk, and wins 2.3 ground duels as opposed to the Liverpool number four’s 1.1 ground duels per game.
Van den Berg vs. Van Dijk key stats 2024/25 PL
Stat (per 90)
Passing accuracy
Tackles made
Aerial duels won
Ground duels won
Ground duel success rate
Clearances
Ball recoveries
Stats from Squawka
It has certainly been a good move for all parties. Van den Berg is starting week in, week out, for a Premier League side, with Brentford securing a player who isn’t too dissimilar to Van Dijk.
Liverpool on the other hand, made a good amount of profit that they can reinvest for Slot to improve his side in the future. Overall, many Liverpool fans might well agree that Slot hit the jackpot on this one.