Liverpool need to be extremely careful with Virgil van Dijk during the early weeks of Andoni Iraola’s first season at the club.
Just as he has been under Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot, Van Dijk will clearly be a key player for Iraola, and with Ibrahima Konate departing and two young defenders perhaps not ready to step up, the Dutchman will arguably be needed more than ever.
However, as Squawka report, Van Dijk is the only player from Europe’s top seven leagues who played every minute of the domestic season, and has gone on to do the same at the World Cup so far. As he approaches his 35th birthday, Liverpool need to be mindful of the load being put on their captain.
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Virgil van Dijk needs a break in 2026/27
It is a huge feather in Van Dijk’s cap that he has been able to keep going so strongly despite moving into the autumn of his career.
Although it was not his best season, the centre-back is still one of the very best around, and though the Netherlands are now out of the World Cup, steps must be taken to make sure Van Dijk is not overloaded heading into the new campaign.
Liverpool always need their skipper, and Iraola will lean on him heavily during his first months with the Reds, but they absolutely need to exercise some caution in those early matches.
Despite Liverpool’s current dearth of experience at centre-back, they cannot push Van Dijk to start too early into the season.
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Naturally, he will come back a little later into pre-season, and despite the Netherlands’ premature exit, he will likely still miss the tour of the USA. But even though his season has ended earlier than he would have liked, Van Dijk’s comeback into the team should then be staggered as well.
If Van Dijk is on the teamsheet for Iraola’s first competitive match with the Reds away to Newcastle on August 23rd, Liverpool will have failed him.
As much as the Reds have a better chance of winning any game with Van Dijk in the XI, this is about ensuring the captain can have another season where he plays virtually every game. He clocked in another 120 minutes on Tuesday, and, at his age, he now needs to start thinking about the future, and that means managing the minutes he is playing.
Who will step in for Van Dijk?
The one problem Iraola has here is that he is very short on options for who steps in for Van Dijk.
Given the Reds’ current options, the Netherlands legend coming out of the team would mean at least one of Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet starting at Newcastle.
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That would be a risk for Iraola, with neither having ever played in the Premier League before.
Joe Gomez, if fit, would no doubt be thumbed to start at St James’ Park, but Van Dijk’s situation makes it even more pressing that Liverpool add another centre-back in the transfer market.
For now, the rumour mill is completely quiet, suggesting that the Reds are potentially happy with what they have.
But while Leoni and Jacquet will surely end up being top players for Liverpool, they will still need the experience, leadership and quality of Van Dijk throughout next season. The best way to do that is to protect the No. 4 wherever possible.
If they do not, then Liverpool are running the risk of Van Dijk breaking down and potentially never coming back the same again.
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