‘I’m dead serious’: Van Dijk says Liverpool legend with over 700 games wouldn’t get in their squad now

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Virgil van Dijk gave a ‘dead serious’ answer on whether Jamie Carragher would get into his Liverpool team. The defender played over 700 games.

Would Jamie Carragher get into this Liverpool team? That was one question put to Virgil van Dijk as he gave an interview on Gary Neville’s The Overlap.

Carragher, of course, is a true Liverpool legend. The defender played over 700 games for the Reds, sitting second on the all-time appearance list behind Ian Callaghan. And yet, Van Dijk has his doubts.

“Not even in the full squad, the first 20! He would be in the stands,” said the Dutchman. “Okay, to really think about it now.

“You have two centre-backs playing – hopefully I’m playing and then Joe Gomez now. So we have [Joel] Matip and [Ibrahima] Konaté – you’re not going to put a third centre-back on.

“No [he wouldn’t get in the squad]. And I’m dead serious about that. He played many, many games for Liverpool but I would say in the modern-day game, Matip and Konaté would be ahead of him.”

Virgil van Dijk on Jamie Carragher

Carragher undoubtedly thrived in teams under Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez because they played deep, compact and looked to counter-attack. It means the defender could focus entirely on what he did well – physical matchups and intelligent positioning in the box.

Would he have been as good in a high-line that calls for one-v-one defending? Probably not. But we wouldn’t say Carragher couldn’t do it, either. His final season with Liverpool saw Brendan Rodgers implement a much higher line and he forced his way into the team by the end of the season.

That was when he was in his mid-30s and past his prime. A younger Carragher, able to learn the system properly, likely would have been very good.

The question is then whether he’d have been better than Van Dijk, Gomez, Konaté or Matip. That one is up for debate but Van Dijk might be right about this one. Those four are all completely suited to this style of player, whereas Carragher isn’t.

The fact he might not get into the squad is less of a reflection on his ability, though, and more a sign of how well Liverpool built their centre-back options. They have four great players, all of whom are at home in Jurgen Klopp’s playing style.

While Carragher was arguably a better player than three of them, that doesn’t mean he could have played as well in this team.