Virgil van Dijk has claimed that Liverpool are well covered in defence following injury to Joel Matip.
Matip is set to miss the rest of the season having ruptured his ACL against Fulham on Sunday. It’s a crushing blow for the player, who had been in excellent form this season.
Nevertheless, the show must go on for Liverpool. Without Matip, the Reds have three senior centre-back options: Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.
Crucially, Jurgen Klopp can also now count on 20-year-old Jarell Quansah who has been surprisingly excellent this season. And it’s Quansah who Van Dijk singled out when speaking to The Athletic today.
“I think every time Jarell has had the opportunity so far he has done well,” said the 32-year-old. “When the moment is there for him — like every other player who will come in when we rotate or have injuries or suspensions — they have to be ready. We still have Ibou and Joey, but Jarell is a very good option as well.
“For all the younger generation, if you are close to the first team and training with us, you have to soak everything in. He’s a good boy. He wants to learn and he is learning. If you told me at the start of the season he would be doing as well as he is doing, I’d say you were lying. We will see what the future brings for him but it looks quite bright.”
Van Dijk gives Quansah backing
What a good job Liverpool did have Quansah breaking through this season. Had they not have done, it could have been 2020/21 all over again.
With so many games to play and only three centre-backs to use, the Reds would have been in trouble.
But Quansah is the reason Liverpool didn’t bother signing a defender during the summer. He’s proven himself good enough to be trusted as a fully-fledged first-teamer.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that Liverpool now have to do something in the January window.
Given that Matip had been expected to leave next year anyway, there should already be tentative plans in place for a new recruit.
As they did last year when signing Cody Gakpo, the Reds now have to bring those blueprints forwards. If they don’t, it could end up being costly.
Either way, it might be a wise decision for Liverpool to bring Nat Phillips back from his loan at Celtic in the New Year. He’s nowhere close to Matip’s level and is perhaps a level below Quansah currently too, but he’s a decent break-glass option who the manager knows well.
In the meantime, Jarell now has a huge opportunity in-front of him. Take it, and he can be assured of his place in the Liverpool squad for the medium-term at least. With Van Dijk’s backing ringing in his ears, there’s no reason to doubt him.
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