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Virgil van Dijk’s cruciate ligament injury could leave Premier League champion Liverpool without its best defender until spring. It raises questions about whether Jurgen Klopp’s team is capable of retaining the title.
Jamie Carragher shares those concerns and believes that the loss of the Dutchman should be the catalyst for his former club to advance its plans to recruit a new defender.
“Liverpool’s next big signing had to be a center back anyway and I’m talking next summer,” Carragher said. Monday night football. “Dejan Lovren left and they didn’t replace him, so they only have three center-backs and one of them, Joel Matip, is always injured.
“Now there are question marks on Joe Gomez.
“So there is no question that Liverpool had to do something big in the transfer market next summer. That was the next. That now has to be brought forward to January 1, whoever the target is in the summer. Not late. January. [wasting time that month] negotiate with a club. “
With many other elite teams looking for a quality center-back, finding the man to fill the void left by Van Dijk will not be easy, but the name of Dayot Upamecano has already been identified.
The 21-year-old French international has been hugely impressive since joining Leipzig in 2017 and is expected to move to an even bigger club in no time. Carragher now hopes Liverpool are prepared to make that happen sooner rather than later.
“There is a young man that everyone was talking about in Leipzig, Dayot Upamecano, they talk about him. Whether he has the Van Dijk profile, I think he is only 6’1” or 6’2 “, so maybe it’s not that antenna, but if he’s the one they wanted, then go ahead.
“Pay extra money and do it on January 1st.
“That means going 11 league games without Virgil van Dijk.
“One thing to say about Virgil van Dijk is that in the last 23 games they have only kept five clean sheets, and Van Dijk played them all, so it’s not that everything was perfect. We watched all seven against Aston Villa and we watched the match. from Leeds.
“But I think they have to go big with a signing.”
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Even if Liverpool can bring in a new defender, the prospect of another 99-point season for Klopp’s men seems unlikely. However, as Carragher points out, that may not stop them from competing for the Premier League title once again.
“The good news for Liverpool is that this season you won’t need 99 points to win the league,” adds Carragher.
“I think it will be in the eighties. Liverpool and City have already lost five points. For it to be another 99-point season you can only afford to lose another 10 and that is not going to happen.”
“So Liverpool have dropped from an average of 98 over the last two seasons, but if they drop 10 to 12 points, even 15 from there, they will be there or around during the season.”
A new defender would certainly help.
Who will replace Van Dijk in the short term?
Ben Ransom from Sky Sports News:
“Like Fernandinho, taking Fabinho on defense and losing him in midfield could be a blow to Liverpool.
“But I think Fabinho will be the natural replacement, certainly for next season. He can talk to everyone, he is the only player, like Van Dijk, who can have Gómez or Matip with him, and tell the laterals to do so. “
Read the full discussion of the Pitch to Post podcast
Could any of the young players step up?
Rhys Williams, Sepp van den Berg, Nathaniel Phillips and Billy Koumetio are among Liverpool’s top young center-backs with whom Jurgen Klopp could play with Van Dijk out.
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