VIRGIL VAN DIJK HAS ALREADY MADE HIS FEELINGS CLEAR ON LIVERPOOL'S DEFENSE - 'THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT'

Liverpool has gone into the summer transfer market with major questions over the defensive positions. But Virgil van Dijk has already delivered a verdict which should calm the nerves.

There has been talk that the Reds don't intend to strengthen at center-back at all. The Liverpool ECHO confirmed interest in Leny Yoro, but claimed he was viewed as an exceptional transfer market opportunity, and that the position as a whole is not currently viewed as a priority.

This comes as something of a surprise. Joel Matip has left the club, Virgil van Dijk is turning 33, Joe Gomez has developed into more of a utility man across the back line, and Jarell Quansah is still quite raw.

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However, fresh-faced though he may be, Quansah did prove himself with significant minutes at the top level last season. And of course, it would be wrong to forget about Ibrahima Konate.

It's been a tough few months for the Frenchman. Out of favor at Liverpool by the end of the campaign, with Quansah having seemingly overtaken him on merit, he's now out of the starting picture at Euro 2024 as well.

But rewind just a short amount of time, and Konate was being hailed as one of the best prospects around. He still has that extremely high ceiling, with the combination of his pace and his physicality.

Van Dijk picked up on it in Konate's very first season at Liverpool. After a win over Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, he sung the praises of his new colleague:

“He’s made a great impact, working hard every day, good mentality, work rate — incredible," Van Dijk said (per Rousing the Kop). "Obviously, he needs to perform when he’s called upon and I think he’s doing just that.

"He’s still so young and it’s incredible how good he already is. Everyone at Liverpool should appreciate what we’ve got and yeah, the future is bright."

Konate only just turned 25, so that verdict still rings more or less true. Liverpool might have hoped to see more development in his game by now, but he remains a world-class option, one of the few in the game who at least has the potential to approach the kind of levels Van Dijk himself has reached.

Remember, Van Dijk himself was something of a late bloomer at the truly elite level. At 25, he'd not long made the move to Southampton.

As for the "future is bright" verdict, it rings truer than ever with the emergence of Quansah as well. Liverpool probably could still do with dipping into the market, but it should not disregard its existing options.

Liverpool.com says: While it would still definitely be wise to dip into the transfer market, not least given Konate's injury record, it's true that Liverpool perhaps needed a reminder about him. He still has the potential to be the one at the heart of the back line for years to come.

It's early days on Quansah, but his ceiling looks similarly high. There's every chance that could be the first-choice pairing that defines the Arne Slot era.

As such, even if it's just a depth signing to relieve those two of the game-time burden, Liverpool might be able to get away with that. And of course, Van Dijk himself is going nowhere just yet.

2024-06-28T07:30:38Z dg43tfdfdgfd