Virgil van Dijk, who remained quiet after Mohamed Salah’s social media post, has now spoken out about the Egyptian.
Salah has divided opinion after he called for Liverpool to return to playing heavy metal football, seemingly aiming a dig at Arne Slot.
A lot of players liked the forward’s post on Instagram, though Van Dijk was not one of them. But the Dutchman has now revealed he’s going to miss the leadership his long-time teammate brings and the standards he sets.
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Mohamed Salah leadership set to be a big miss at Liverpool
Speaking about all the things he’ll miss about Salah once he leaves at the end of this week, the centre-back told Liverpool’s media team: “In terms of Mo, I think for me personally, obviously looking from behind and seeing what he did and the beautiful goals he scored, how strong he is like when there’s a one-v-one and no-one can get him off the ball or the important penalties he scored.
“Obviously Mo is not a big talker but obviously he’s a leader by example. So, it’s those types of things I’m 100 per cent going to miss.”
Salah is not the only leader moving on, though, with Andy Robertson set to run down his contract and secure a free transfer elsewhere.
On Robertson, Van Dijk said: “I’m going to 100 per cent miss having him as a character around us as a team, but also [as] one of the guys that experienced and dealt with so many tough moments and also good moments, because good moments shouldn’t be underestimated as well that could have such an impact on you. So yeah, it’s definitely something I’m going to miss.”
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While Salah may not be the most outspoken person on the pitch, his work rate and ability to set the standards at Liverpool needs praise.
Similarly, the exit of Robertson and a potential move for Alisson Becker will leave Van Dijk as the only senior leader left from the Jurgen Klopp era.
Slot now has the task of finding new players who can carry this team forward from the front, but who in this squad can really do that?
Apart from Van Dijk, who is out of contract in 2027 anyway, it feels there are just no leaders left, and more experience should be signed in the summer.
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