Arne Slot is walking in to manage a Liverpool squad which is packed to the rafters with talent.
The Reds may not have been at their very best over the last two seasons under Jurgen Klopp, but there’s a lot for Slot to work with.
Having gone relatively close to the Premier League title in 2023/24, a little bit of tweaking here and there could see Liverpool rival Manchester City and Arsenal once again.
The main thing going for the Liverpool squad is that they have a number of young players who are going to get even better. After solid first seasons, players like Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch will only improve, too.
The other big feather in the Reds’ cap is that they have several players at Anfield who are genuine legends of the game.
Daniel van Buyten hails Virgil van Dijk impact
Hark back to the best days under Klopp, and Liverpool fans will recall that they once had seven players nominated for the Ballon d’Or in a single year, 2019.
Many don’t put too much stock into these individual awards in a team sport, but it’s impressive recognition for a group who won it all.
Out of those seven, three finished in the top five and four in the top seven. That is truly exceptional stuff from Liverpool.
The man who came closest of all to winning the prestigious trophy was Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool’s colossal centre-back lost out to Lionel Messi by a measly seven points.
READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand names the Liverpool player who is ‘top five’ in his position right now
That was a fair reflection of just how good Van Dijk was at the time and the Dutchman was arguably unlucky not to beat Messi to the gong. He was undisputedly the best centre-back around.
Fast forward five years, and Van Dijk is still at the top of his game. Nevertheless, turning 33 this summer, it will soon be time to pass the torch over.
For some, he already has. Asked on Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE YouTube channel to name the best in the world right now, former Bayern Munich centre-back Daniel van Buyten suggested that while Van Dijk had been the top defender, he no longer is.
“I think for two or three years Van Dijk was for me the number one,” said Van Buyten. “But the last season I think he was a little bit more down. [William] Saliba had a very good season and [Antonio] Rudiger is hard, maybe a little bit crazy, but he did a good job”
Virgil van Dijk still number one
We’re not entirely sure that Van Buyten must have been paying all that close attention to Van Dijk last season. The 32-year-old delivered one of his very best campaigns in a Liverpool shirt.
Van Dijk was arguably the Reds player of the year and looks back to his best after a wobble in 2022/23.
With Slot coming in this summer, Van Dijk was the first player he called. The captain is still completely invaluable to Liverpool.
In terms of who could challenge him for the title of ‘best in the world,’ William Saliba is the name that comes up the most frequently.
However, Saliba himself has admitted that he’s not at Van Dijk’s level. Liverpool’s No.4 is still the benchmark and will be for a long time.
We’d urge Van Buyten to take a closer look. Virgil was indeed the best, for longer than two or three years actually, and still is today.
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