Liverpool loanee Sepp van den Berg has revealed he will not discuss his future until after the U21 European Championships but admits he will discuss his long-term plans when returning to Merseyside.
The Dutch youngster has spent this season on loan in the Bundesliga with Schalke. However, the defenders' progress was halted by a serious ankle injury which required surgery.
Despite going under the knife to the mend the problem, he remained in Gelsenkirchen with the Royal Blues as they continue to fight to stay in the German top-flight after their first season back in the Bundesliga.
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He has managed just seven appearances this season but three of them have came in the recent weeks after returning to the first-team. He has played the entirety of their last two games against Mainz and Bayern Munich as Van den Berg looks to make a late claim for the U21s squad for the Championships in Romania and Georgia.
"I get messages regularly," the 21-year-old said in an interview with German outlet WAZ. "There were especially many after the games against Bremen and Mainz. Assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders also congratulated me. But I’m not in daily contact with Liverpool officials now.
"I’m a family guy and at Schalke I was immediately welcomed as a member of the family. That made me feel at home very quickly. I get along with everyone here. I also fit in well here in terms of gameplay, and I want to prove that again in the last two league games.
"There have already been initial talks with those responsible about remaining at Schalke. But we have to wait. Our last two games are the most important now," he added.
Schalke currently sit in the relegation playoff position in the Bundesliga, just a point clear of second-from-bottom VfB Stuttgart, and five clear of Hertha Berlin.
They have two matches before the end of the German campaign as they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the VELTINS-Arena before a trip to RB Leizpig concludes their season.
There will be a couple of weeks preparation before the tournament gets underway in Georgia and Romania. Holland have been drawn in Group A alongside the Georgian hosts plus Portugal and Belgium.
"In the summer I hope to take part in the U21 European Championship. Only then will it be decided where I will play in the coming season – it was similar in the past three years," Van den Berg continued.
"At some moments it is difficult and stressful not to know in which country I will be living in a few months. You would like to settle down in one place.
"If one day my home club Liverpool would tell me I could stay and get my caps that would be great, but now I’m at Schalke and I want the team to achieve our goal of staying up. After the end of the season, I will be back in Liverpool to talk about the near future."
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