Liverpool seems to rank Dutch footballers very highly, maybe because they are a bunch of the most talented people in world football.
I grew up watching Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Clarence Seedorf, Marco Van Basten and Edgar Davids to name a few, but these players are not playing for my beloved team Liverpool.
The only notable Ex-Liverpool Dutch footballers that has impressed me very much is the great Dirk Kuyt. When Jurgen Klopp became the manager of Liverpool, he brought in two most influential world class Dutch Footballer into the team, Georginio Wijnaldum and of course the collossus Virgil Van Dijk.
During the recently concluded English Premier League, Jurgen Klopp gave a young 17 year old Dutch Centreback by the name of Ki-Jana Hoever to play along the big boys against Wolverhampton in the FA Cup which they lost 2 - 1. It was a remarkable achievement for a boy of his age to get a chance to play with the senior team.
Today, I was captivated by the news about Liverpool bringing in another 17 year old Dutch Footballer into their junior team. He may not be included into the senior team just as yet, but at 17 years old, this guy has been playing for the senior side of his previous team PEC Zwolle, 15 times last season. His manager must have a great faith in his capabilities and potential, that he is willing to let him play with the first team.
The new Dutch Footballer bought for 2 million pound is none other than Sepp Van Den Berg. As I recall from what I have read, when he first started playing football, his main position on the field is as a Right-Winger. His position was then changed to Right-Back and eventually at Centre-Back.
I have no idea how good this youngster is or whether he can really reach his full potential. But the Liverpool scouts has made good find of rare talents lately, and Van Den Berg might be another rough diamond waiting to be polished.
I guess it will take another couple of seasons for him to be truly ready for the First Team and the Premier League. By then, if everything goes well and he became a valuable squad member, for 2 million pound, it will be an absolute steal. I can't wait to see what this youngster can offer during the pre-season together with the other Dutch youngster Ki-Jana Hoever.