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Publication date: Saturday, October 24, 2020 7:57 AM
Paul Merson believes Liverpool need to hire a quality defender to cover Virgil van Dijk rather than just a cheap replacement.
Van Dijk could miss the rest of the season after sustaining an ACL injury during the Merseyside derby. The Dutch defender was on the receiving end of a rash challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Now he will need knee surgery and faces the possibility of being away for at least six months.. It will be a blow to Liverpool’s hopes of retaining their title.
The Premier League champions were already short on defensive depth after opting not to sign a replacement for Dejan Lovren when the Croatian left in the summer. Now, they are even thinner on the ground.
In their first game since van Dijk’s injury, Liverpool lined up against Ajax with Fabinho falling alongside Joe Gomez as central defender. His other option there, Joel Matip, was also injured for the game.
Unsurprisingly, Liverpool have already been linked to several centers by the time the transfer window opens in January. Some reported targets are big names like Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzigwhile others suggest that Liverpool may opt for an interim solution as free agent Ezequiel Garay.
However, former Arsenal midfielder Merson doesn’t think a Gomez-Matip partnership is good enough to sustain another title challenge. Therefore, he believes that Liverpool should hire someone good enough to be Van Dijk’s long-term partner when he finally returns.
“I think the Liverpool players need to get together now and show that they can cope,” he told the Daily star. “If they start to lose games, people will accuse them of being a one-man team.
“Van Dijk is the best defender in the industry. But if you want to be one of the best teams in the world, you have to be able to show that you can get by without a player.
“They will have to adjust the way they attack because before they would push so aggressively and sometimes two versus two would be left behind.
“It’s okay when you have Van Dijk, but Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are not in the same class. I would play with Fabinho ahead of both of them, but it’s still not the same.
“They should go find a defender in January and not just a cheap one who can replace him, but someone who can play alongside Van Dijk when he comes back.”
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Merson baffled Pickford was not expelled
Reflecting further on the incident that led to van Dijk’s injury, Merson says Pickford should have appeared in the red. That’s despite admitting that the goalkeeper’s intention was never to harm his opponent.
“Pickford has not come out to try to hurt him,” he said. “Richarlison didn’t mean to hurt Thiago either. Richarlison is actually trying to get out of that tackle and I thought his red card was a bit harsh.
“It’s a derby and these things happen. But Pickford definitely should have been expelled. That decision was a joke.
“If it happens anywhere else on the pitch, they kick him out.
“It just tells me that the people upstairs in the VAR room have no idea about football.”
READ MORE: Aldridge picks central defender Klopp should sign in January
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