Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg feels a full season on-loan with Preston North End will offer him the best chance of proving himself with the Reds.

Van den Berg spent the second-half of last season at Deepdale and is now on-loan for the full campaign.

He told NOS: “I quickly noticed what big steps you can take in six months of Championship. So I thought: if I play there for a whole year, I really have a chance at Liverpool."

Van den Berg admits senior Reds teammate Virgil van Dijk takes an interest in his career.

He added: "He asked me how I liked Preston and told me that he thought it was a good choice because making minutes is so important.

“Fighting, fighting, fast pace, up and down, physically demanding. It is precisely in those areas that my greatest improvement lies."