WHAT HAPPENED? Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk is the frontrunner to become the first-choice captain of the team following Jordan Henderson’s departure as the former captain joined Saudi Arabia outfit Al-Ettifaq, while ex-vice-captain James Milner will play for Brighton next season.
WHAT THEY SAID: “Obviously it’s not overnight that these things happen but definitely we have a lot of players who can take that responsibility and have to take that responsibility, so I’m confident that that will happen,” Van Dijk stated during the pre-match press conference in Singapore ahead of Liverpool’s meeting against Leicester City, referring to the departures of Henderson and Milner.
When asked about whether he’s looking forward to the captaincy role, Van Dijk claimed: “Well, on the captaincy that’s not been announced yet so I can’t say too much about it. But obviously, I’ve been captaining the side multiple times already over the last couple of years and it’s always a proud moment to do that. We will see what the future brings but it would be a huge honour to captain the side.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Henderson ended his 12-year stay with the Reds following his move to Saudi Arabia. Given that he was the captain of the team, his departure, in addition to Milner’s, has left a void in the leadership department.
Van Dijk, who arrived at Anfield in 2018, is one of the longest-serving players at the club currently and has also captained the side multiple times in the absence of the first-choice captains.
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WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL? Currently playing their pre-season friendlies in Singapore, Jurgen Klopp and his team will take on Leicester City on Sunday at the Singapore National Stadium, heading into this game on the back of a 4-4 draw against German side Greuther Furth earlier this week.