Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness believes there is one player within the current Reds squad who simply cannot be sold under any circumstances this summer.
This off season may well be one of the most important in Liverpool’s recent history with former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot coming into the club to replace Jurgen Klopp, who decided to call time on his fantastic nine year association with the club earlier this year.
A managerial departure represents the biggest change at Anfield for nearly a decade and it is unclear how well Slot will do at one of the biggest clubs in England.
It is clear that the Dutchman will have a different brand of football and will therefore want to bring in his own players to try and showcase this different style of play on the pitch but, according to Graeme Souness, there is one player who has to remain.
Souness believes Liverpool man must stay at the club
HITC have reported that Mohamed Salah is still attracting interest from the Saudi Pro League, whilst the club are confident they will extend Trent Alexander-Arnold’s stay at the club with a new and improved contract. However, it is another name who the Scotsman believes is key.
“They can’t sell Van Dijk, they can’t, because they do not have anyone that can step up and be anything like as good as he is,” Souness exclaimed during an interview with Simon Jordan on talkSPORT. “That would be a major blow to them, as would losing 25 goals if Salah were to go.”
Virgil Van Dijk seemed to cast doubt on his future at the club in January, before clarifying a few days later that his words were taken out of context. However, with Slot coming in, you wonder if the 32-year-old will consider his future at the club.
Van Dijk has received plaudits for how well he came back from the ACL injury that he suffered in 2020 and remains one of the league’s best defenders. Tottenham Hotspur winger Dejan Kulusevski recently labelled the Dutchman as ‘annoying‘ due to his superb defensive abilities.
Slot’s important Van Dijk decision
New managers, have, in the past moved high profile players on, to create their own identity.
During his time at Feyenoord, the Dutch manager was keen on giving young players their chance and you wonder if this could well be bad news for Van Dijk, who has been a Liverpool great since his move to the club in 2018.
With Jarell Quansah breaking through and cementing his place as a first team regular for Liverpool, perhaps signing a younger partner for the English defender would be what Slot would want to do.
Either way, it promises to be an interesting first summer at Anfield for Slot, who has been handed a three-year contract at the club.