Pep Guardiola could renew interest in £20m-rated Brentford man following summer transfer links

Brentford defender Sepp van den Berg is said to be attracting transfer interest from Premier League rivals Manchester City, following the centre-back’s links over a move to the Etihad in the summer transfer window.

Van den Berg signed for the Bees in the summer from Liverpool for £20m and has so far made 12 appearances for Brentford, helping Thomas Frank’s side to a strong start to the Premier League season where they currently sit in 11th place, just three points off the top four places.

The Dutchman is reportedly subject to interest from City, who were rumoured to have in him whilst he was at their title rivals Liverpool. According to Football Transfers, Pep Guardiola has held a long-standing interest in Van den Berg ever since his time on loan at Preston North End in 2022.

The report states that City enquired about the availability of the defender whilst he was still at Liverpool, before the Reds accepted an offer of around £20m by Brentford. Seeing that the Dutchman only recently signed with Brentford, he isn’t likely to move in January, but if City come in with a strong offer, he could leave in the summer of 2025.

The 22-year-old moved to Brentford on a five-year contract in which Liverpool are said to have placed a 17.5% sell-on fee for the defender. If City were to come in with a big-money offer, a large chunk of that would go to Anfield rather than all of it coming to the Gtech Community Stadium, which could put Brentford off a sale of Van den Berg until his value increases further.

Fellow Brentford star also in demand from top clubs

Van den Berg isn’t the only one of Thomas Frank’s players said to be attracting interest from top Premier League clubs, with Bryan Mbuemo generating a lot of column inches regarding a move to title contenders in recent weeks.

The Cameroonian has been linked to Arsenal as a player who could take some heat off Bukayo Saka amid his recent injury struggles. Mbuemo has also been linked over a move to Liverpool as a potential long-term replacement for Mohammed Salah whose contract expires in June 2025.

Mbuemo has been impressive this season in the wake of Ivan Toney’s summer departure, scoring eight goals in 11 Premier League games, making him the second-top scorer in the division - just behind City star striker Erling Haaland. His most recent goal came in Brentford’s 4-3 win over Ipswich, a game in which he netted twice.