Brentford have confirmed the arrival of centre-back Sepp van den Berg from Liverpool, in a deal worth an initial £20million.
Van den Berg joined Liverpool from PEC Zwolle as a 17-year-old but never made a Premier League appearance for the Reds, his four outings for the club coming in cup competitions.
He has enjoyed loan spells at Preston North End, Schalke and Mainz in the last four seasons, but was always deemed likely to pursue a permanent move this year, with Virgil van Djik, Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah ahead of him in the pecking order.
Brentford – who also signed attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool earlier this month – have now won the race for his signature, reportedly seeing off competition from Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
The Bees will pay an initial £20m for the Dutchman, with that fee potentially rising to £25m and Liverpool holding a 17.5% sell-on clause.
Boss Thomas Frank told the club's website of the deal: "I think this is a great signing for the club and the team.
"Sepp is a centre-back with a good level and he has the potential to develop even further.
"He fits our culture and the way we want to play: he is quick, he reads the game well and is composed on the ball in the build-up and in the decisive defending actions.
"Sepp is a great character, and I am convinced that he will fit in well with the group and help us to push forward."
Van den Berg's Brentford debut could come against his former club on Sunday, as Brentford visit Anfield for their second game of the Premier League season.
Havertz out of Germany squad with knee injury
Kai Havertz has pulled out of Germany's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches due to a knee injury.
The Arsenal forward played a full 90 minutes in their comeback win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, netting their first goal.
He became the first player to score in seven consecutive home appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since Robin van Persie between December 2011 and March 2012 (also a run of seven).
Havertz has made a stellar start to the campaign, netting six goals in all competitions so far, also getting one assist.
However, he will not be available to face Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to his injury, and it is not yet clear if it will keep him sidelined for Arsenal after the international break.
"Kai Havertz will miss the upcoming international matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to knee problems," Germany announced on X.
"National team coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated Jonathan Burkardt in Havertz's place. Get well soon Kai."
Liverpool edge Tottenham in thriller as injury-hit Everton hold Arsenal
Arsenal missed the chance to keep pace with Women's Super League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, but Liverpool grabbed the standout result.
Liverpool edged Tottenham 3-2 thanks to Marie-Therese Hobinger's last-gasp penalty.
Having netted her first goal of the season in the 75th minute, Hobinger doubled up to win it for the Reds deep in stoppage time.
Ashleigh Neville fouled Sophie Roman Haug, and Hobinger made no mistake to seal Liverpool's first win of the season.
Neville had turned provider for Tottenham's second equaliser of the game at Gaughan Group Stadium, when she crossed for Clare Hunt to score in the 83rd minute.
Liverpool took the lead early on through Cornelia Kapocs, before Taylor Hinds' own goal handed Spurs a leveller.
The Reds' Merseyside rivals Everton, meanwhile, frustrated Arsenal by holding the Gunners to a 0-0 draw.
Everton have been hit by serious knee injuries to Inma Gabarro and Aurora Galli this season, but the Toffees showed plenty of resilience to pick up their first point of the campaign at Emirates Stadium.
Emily Fox went closest for Arsenal when she hit the post early in the first half, but in spite of having 21 shots, the Gunners accumulated only 0.74 expected goals (xG).
Annabel Blanchard, meanwhile, netted twice to propel Crystal Palace to their first victory of the season, as they beat Leicester City 2-0.
Earlier in the day, Man City defeated West Ham 2-0.
Emery: Villa 'missed some energy' in Man Utd stalemate
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "missed some energy" during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend's 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.
Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans' second-half attempt.
And Emery believes his side's midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.
"It is not the best result, but it's not the worst," the Villa boss said. "I think a draw is fair.
"We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn't.
"We missed some energy. Maybe it's because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving."
It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.
After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.
"We are in the process of building a team," he added. "We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.
"We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We're going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding."
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