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When Liverpool looked for a central defender four years ago, they saw no fewer than 34 candidates play 15 games each. When it came to those with potential to develop, Virgil van Dijk emerged as the leader in all categories, from aerial prowess and speed of recovery to composure and respect from his colleagues.
It’s the spatial awareness, quietness, height, goals, and orientation for Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, who are poorer without him, that they will now miss. As well as the diagonal passes that power Liverpool on the fast break and were an integral part of last year’s 3-1 away win at Bayern Munich, in which Van Dijk also scored.
Can Liverpool retain the Premier League if, as seems possible, van Dijk will be out for the entire season due to an ACL injury that will require surgery? “I would say no,” says Mark Lawrenson of the BBC. “ His performances don’t change, but he helps everyone around him and improves them. He is a talker; a leader. It is irreplaceable. ‘
Jurgen Klopp insisted that Liverpool must regroup. “Virgil will get over it, 100 percent, and today is already the first day of recovery,” he said.
But he was already half down, having sanctioned the sale of Dejan Lovren to Zenit St Petersburg this summer, so it will be for Joel Matip, prone to injury and also undergoing a muscle scan after Saturday’s derby, as well as for Joe. Gomez, a job – in progress with a tendency to adopt the wrong body shape at key moments and struggle – to step up.
So far, the 29-year-old Matip has not seen himself as a leader although it is possible, of course, that this crisis will make him a more vocal advocate, aware that this is his moment to lead the 23-year-old Gomez. Unexpected results can come from adversity. When Kenny Dalglish missed two months of the 1983/84 season after Kevin Moran broke his jaw, Paul Walsh played and flourished.
It is possible that Fabinho, impressive in van Dijk’s place when he replaced him in the 0-0 home game against Bayern, could become one of Klopp’s preferred mediums, although Lawrenson sees the Brazilian possibly sitting a little deeper in front. On the defensive. two ‘to form a triangle with the center of the back’.
Another alternative is a three-man defense from Matip, Gomez and Fabinho, although that would mean that Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold operate as pure wingers, which would be detrimental. “At their current position, they have acres to go and their starting position is a defensive position,” Lawrenson says. “With three in the back they become two midfielders, playing in the middle of the lap in a more congested space.”
Klopp will likely return to the transfer market in January, especially since Lovren’s departure has left him short, although the problem is that the middle half is currently a premium position, which has raised the price.
Liverpool have actively searched Germany, asking for Schalke’s combative Turkish midfielder Ozan Kabak, a more aggressive version of Matip, although after hearing the £ 36.2 million price tag, they did not go down that path. Malick Thiaw, the young Finn who has captained Schalke’s under-19s and appeared briefly for the senior team, has also been of interest.
The Liverpool and Manchester City scouts are made the same way, so Sevilla center midfielder Jules Kounde will be well known to Klopp, although he, like Thiaw, has very little experience. Liverpool like to buy defenders who, like Gomez, can develop as a winger and adapt to central defense.
They were surprised that Bristol City England Under-21 international Lloyd Kelly signed for Bournemouth, rather than them, last year. They like Brighton’s Ben White, although they have reservations about his height and have considered Burnley’s James Tarkowski in the past.
The truth is that Klopp’s enormous demands on plants make buying one for immediate use devilishly difficult. “Because the team pushes up and up, you need the rhythm to recover and come back,” Lawrenson says.
“You need to go back in a foot race of more than 30 meters.” That might rule out the idea of bringing Conor Coady, an extremely effective leader and defender, home to Liverpool from the Wolves.
There is a consolation for Liverpool that the rest of the Premier League greats are not exactly uprooting trees and that van Dijk has generally proven to be so durable.
The moment above all others that left Klopp and his staff convinced they had signed the right man came late against Tottenham at Anfield last season when Moussa Sissoko led a two-on-one breakaway. Van Dijk held his ground, forcing Sissoko to rush his chance and miss. Van Dijk received a very severe blow to the ankle in the process and left the stadium on an ice pack. He returned to the team six days later.
However, this dismissal will be considerably longer and even if the Dutchman returns early, will the damage have already been done?
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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