‘Falling apart’ – Virgil van Dijk throws down challenge to Liverpool teammates in stark message

Virgil van Dijk has called for new leaders to step up within the Liverpool squad at a time when the club is preparing to bid farewell to two long-serving stalwarts.

In the past month, it’s been confirmed that both Mo Salah and Andy Robertson will leave Anfield at the end of this season after nine years each with the Reds, with the duo guaranteed an emotional send-off at home to Brentford on the final day of the campaign.

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The Scottish left-back’s departure will leave the vice-captaincy up for grabs, while the current captain will then become the second longest-serving player in the squad after Joe Gomez, whose own future has been the subject of speculation over the past few months.

Van Dijk calls on teammates to ‘step up’ as leaders

When Van Dijk was asked whether Liverpool need a ‘reset’ after a hugely disappointing season, he responded (via The Times): “You have to ask the question to the guys higher up. The leadership boys are falling apart in terms of players leaving, so players have to step up and see what the guys making the decisions are going to do.

“I’m pretty sure everyone has the right intentions to make us, as a club, competitive and hopefully not have a season like we’re having this season again. Players have to step up. You grow into that [leadership] role or you already have it in you. That is something players have to show even more next season.”

On the topic of who succeeds Robertson as vice-captain, Van Dijk didn’t mention any names but said that he ‘definitely’ has his ‘opinion’ on who’d be best-placed to step into that role.

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Liverpool need new leaders to emerge soon

Once this season has finished, Liverpool will have seen Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Robertson depart in the space of three years, with all except the Egyptian serving as either captain or vice-captain.

That’s quite the drain of leadership and experience from the squad since the 2022/23 campaign, and it seems likely that Van Dijk will move on next year once his current contract ends, by which time he’ll be coming up to his 36th birthday.

There’s a palpable sense that the Reds are in the midst of a major transition between the fading embers of the core Klopp-era group and the team that the current regime are trying to build, and the reality is that new leaders will need to emerge in the near future.

To his credit, Dominik Szoboszlai has already pledged to assume more responsibility within the dressing room, and as captain of Hungary for several years, our number 8 seems well-placed to succeed Robertson as vice-skipper at Liverpool.

He shouldn’t be expected to take on a leadership role all on his own, though, and Van Dijk has publicly thrown down the challenge to his teammates to fill the void that the exits of Salah and Robertson will leave.

There are enough players with ample experience in the squad to step up as dressing room figureheads over the next year or two – let’s hope they can demonstrably do that in a time of significant generational change at Anfield.

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