Richard Dunne believes that Virgil van Dijk is the “real problem” in Liverpool’s defense this season and has urged Jurgen Klopp to build his back-line around Ibou Konate instead of the Dutchman.
The former Southampton centre-back returned to the starting XI for the Reds’ 2-0 defeat of Newcastle last week following a hamstring injury and retained his place in the squad for the dismal 5-2 defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night. .
Much has been made about Liverpool’s defensive performance this season with Jurgen Klopp’s back line looking far from comfortable for most of the campaign and Dunne has suggested our No. 4 hasn’t been the same player since who suffered a serious knee injury in 2020. .
“Everyone has been looking at the defensive side of Liverpool in terms of [Joel] Matip, Gomez and Van Dijk need a partner,” the Irishman said during Virgin Media’s Champions League coverage on Wednesday night (via Pundit Arena).
“But the real problem is possibly Van Dijk. I don’t think he has recovered from his injury. I think when players run to him, he doesn’t make a tackle anymore.
“You always see him sticking his hands out and saying someone else should have done better, but you don’t see him intercepting anymore, you don’t see him winning balls down the middle line, you don’t see last minute tackles. , there is only a passivity in his defense.
“He’s one of those players where you think he’ll eventually pick himself up and get back to where he was, but now there’s a couple of seasons where there’s no real sign that things are changing and sometimes he’ll come close and win. the ball back.”
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Since moving to Anfield in 2018, the Netherlands captain has been recognized as one of the best defenders in the world.
He has won every major trophie possible on Merseyside and much of our recent success we owe to the Dutchman.
There’s no denying he’s lost a bit of sharpness since Jordan Pickford’s dreadful tackle in 2020, but we still think he’s still the club’s best defender.
Konate has been quality since his arrival from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021 and should now be the main man in Klopp’s defense according to Dunne.
“He [Van Dijk] Somehow he changed his whole defensive style to be more of a coordinator, directing people where he thinks they should go, instead of making those tackles, being a big, strong halfback and getting bogged down on stuff.
“He just seems to be very passive. Konate is someone who can do it, maybe he is the one they are missing and they need to build a defense around Konate instead of Van Dijk.”
We’re at our best when our No. 4 and No. 5 partner at the heart of our defense, but injuries have limited their playing time together this season.
The Frenchman, however, returned to training yesterday as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury and the hope is that the pair will perform together again in the near future.
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