To say that Liverpool has defensive worries is like saying Lionel Messi competes with Cristiano Ronaldo for the ‘the best footballer’ crown. The Reds have been one of the most exciting sides to watch going forward but are equally poor at the back.
We have seen before, as to how ‘poor defending’ cost us many points last season. Even this year, there are already some instances where our defenders have been caught napping and letting in cheap goals.
Jurgen Klopp may not agree but the failure to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton – or for that matter, any defender, has to be one of the prime reasons for these frailties.
Critics may point out to Van Dijk’s poor comeback for Southampton U23s a couple of weeks back, but mind you, that has been after a long lay-off from the first team. We are talking about a defender who has been one of the best centre-backs in the entire Premier League since arriving.
Liverpool did go after the Dutch defender but were put off very early in the season after Southampton complained of an ‘illegal approach’, post which the Reds had to apologise.
Amid continued defensive bloopers, it is surprising to see Klopp indicate that no other defenders were considered good enough to be signed by Liverpool after it was known that Van Dijk was unattainable.
I completely agree with this theory, if it means that we want Van Dijk and only Van Dijk – be it in January or next summer or the year after.
Will that be the case? For someone so talented, it would be a huge surprise if Van Dijk continues to be at Southampton beyond this year. No disrespect to the Saints but the Dutch defender is good enough to play regularly in Champions League and Southampton may not be the right club to propel him to that.
I would also be surprised if no club other than Liverpool go after Van Dijk. There were reports that Arsene Wenger might be interested in taking him to the Emirates. If Klopp and Liverpool continue to dither, there is a possibility of a silent transfer behind the scenes.
I might be thinking too much but let’s hope for the sake of our club that we don’t let Van Dijk slip out of our reach.
https://youtu.be/3HErHsHMONw
