Arne Slot placed in difficult position by wantaway Liverpool defender

Arne Slot is facing the first major transfer dilemma of his Liverpool reign with unhappy Sepp van den Berg suffering a blow to his hopes of leaving the club.

Van den Berg has spent the past three years out on loan, particularly impressing with Mainz last season. But rather than setting out to fight for his place in Liverpool's team, the Dutchman has made it clear he wants to depart permanently this summer.

With Virgil van Dijk, Jarell Quansah, Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate already at the club, Van den Berg would face an uphill battle for game time in his preferred centre-back position. He has attracted interest from a number of clubs so far this summer.

The team most heavily linked with a move for the defender has been PSV Eindhoven. Despite winning the Eredivisie at a canter last season, losing just one game, they are keen to boost their defensive options.

But any potential deal has now hit a stumbling block, with Eindhovens Dagblad reporting that PSV are unwilling to pay the £16.7million price tag Liverpool have slapped on Van den Berg's head.

The Dutch side are willing to make a 'hefty offer' but are stopping short of the fee Liverpool are looking for. They do see Van den Berg has the 'final piece of the puzzle' for their squad and are continuing to 'push' for a move for him.

While they do not expect a deal to be completed quickly, PSV are willing to play the waiting game for him. Instead, they believe it will be a drawn-out pursuit, with a deal likely taking until late August to be completed.

This puts Slot in a difficult position, with Van den Berg clearly unhappy. Liverpool may now be forced to slash their valuation to force through a deal, with the defender himself having previously demanded a move.

"I knew that I couldn't get from PEC Zwolle [straight] to Liverpool's first team. I could have been at Liverpool for one or two more years, but I wanted to play with all my might. I demanded to be [loaned] out," he said in June.

"On the one hand, that was great. Yes, how does that work, you're 17, 18 years old, you're central to the defence in training against the starting XI, you have to build up and then Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah come running towards you.

"It was tough, but I enjoyed it. But in all honesty, I wasn't looked after anymore. I also felt 'ready' [in 2021]. I had a good conversation with the management. He said he had received good reports.

"I understood that I wasn't going to play Van Dijk, Matip or Konate out [the team]. But I thought I could be right behind it. When I didn't get a chance again, I said: 'Figure it out, I want to leave.' You (Liverpool) didn't exude confidence in me all this time, but you do want to hinder my future. I want to keep playing every week and develop myself further."