Liverpool’s improved transfer strategy has been lauded as one of the most crucial aspects behind the recent success of Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Focusing on young upcoming talent at times rather than going for established superstars has worked wonders for the Anfield side.
The Merseysiders might continue that trend with the recent acquisition of highly rated teenager Sepp van den Berg in a £1.3 million deal that could rise to £ 4.4 million if certain performance related add-ons are met.
The 17-year-old was one of the most wanted young center-backs in Europe with many big shots including Bayern Munich actively looking to secure his services.
But the young Dutchman ultimately chose to join his countryman Virgil van Dijk and should be one of the young defenders to watch in the Premier League for years to come.
While the teenage sensation has been noticed by scouts for some time now, he hasn’t quite been under the spotlight as much as fellow Dutchman Matthijs de Ligt.
The 19-year-old quickly became the most sought-after young talent in Europe after leading a young Ajax team into the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.
De Ligt is expected to move clubs himself, with Europe’s biggest clubs including the likes of Barcelona and Juventus engaged in a tug of war to secure his services .
While the footballing world has been singing praises for his heroics in the UCL, a look at the stats show that his younger countryman is not that far behind the Ajax captain in terms of ability.
A side-by-side comparison of their numbers last season in the Eredivisie shows that the new Liverpool signing is actually performing at a level quite close to De Ligt and even outperforms his stats on certain aspects like interceptions and defensive duels won.
While his team wasn’t on the same level as Ajax in the Eredivisie last year, it seems Van den Berg certainly was close to outperforming De Ligt.
Numbers don’t lie! Have a look at how Liverpool’s new signing ranks against Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt here –
Stats from @insight_futbol