Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore chooses Virgil van Dijk as the next team captain
As per an exclusive column for Caught Offside, former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore backs defender Virgil van Dijk to become the next captain of the team.
This is after the news that Jordan Henderson is all but confirmed to leave the club and sign for Saudi Arabia club Al-Ettifaq. Vice-captain James Milner left as a free agent earlier in the summer as well.
Currently, Liverpool are without an official captain and vice-captain of the squad. In the two pre-season games so far, whenever van Dijk has been on the field, he has worn the armband.
Collymore expects the Dutchman to take over that role permanently with Alisson Becker as his deputy. Here’s an excerpt of Collymore’s article for Caught Offside:
“I feel that Virgil van Dijk should be given the Liverpool captaincy. He is a player that leads by example so for me, he is the obvious choice with Alisson taking the vice-captain role seeing that James Milner has also departed Anfield.”
Handing van Dijk the captaincy would be an obvious choice because he has been leading the Dutch national side for some time now. Moreover, he is an experienced player who has been at Anfield for more than five years now.
Lastly, there aren’t many games in a season where the 32-year-old gets rested or rotated. As a centre-back, you tend to play most games in a campaign anyway.
If Jurgen Klopp wants to be creative and think about the long-term future, then Trent Alexander-Arnold might be an option. He is 24 now and has been playing as a first-choice right-back for more than five years now.
Alexander-Arnold is the local lad who should remain at the club for the rest of his career. Although he hasn’t shown any leadership qualities on the field so far, he has the game and the mentality to lead a team of players yearning to do better next season and bring some silverware to the club.
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Let’s see which way Klopp turns to for handing the armband.
