Liverpool would be out of the title race if ‘crucial’ star picked up an injury, Arne Slot has been warned
Arne Slot is the middle of a mini crisis at Liverpool as he looks to return the club to winning ways in the Premier League.
Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Brentford made it four successive losses in the Premier League for the Reds, to leave them seven points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Slot has publicly said Liverpool struggle against low-blocks despite the talent at his disposal following a summer of heavy transfer recruitment.
Florian Wirtz’s poor form at Liverpool has been a concern, whilst Alexander Isak struggles with injury problems, but Slot has been told which player he can’t afford to be without.
Virgil van Dijk injury would blow Liverpool’s title chances
Speaking to Sky Sports, [27 October], Clinton Morrison believes that Virgil van Dijk is still a “crucial” player at Liverpool despite the Reds’ early season defensive woes.
“No they’re [van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate] not in form, but I think he [van Dijk] is always covering for [Milos] Kerkez, I know Kerkez scored at the weekend but I think he’s been a bit of a struggle for the football club,” Morrison said.
“At the moment I’m thinking go back to what you know in Andy Robertson and let Kerkez, take him out for a bit.
“I’m not saying he’s totally finished at Liverpool, he ain’t but I feel van Dijk is always covering Kerkez and I know he was doing that when he was younger but now he’s getting older and had a few injuries you can’t expect van Dijk to cover everything one-on-one situations.
“I still think he’s a top class defender and I still think if Liverpool didn’t have Virgil van Dijk they would have no chance of winning the Premier League, I think he’s that crucial to Liverpool, if he ever picked up an injury the title race would be over so he is crucial to them.”
| Minutes Played | 810 |
| Duels Won % | 77.6% |
| Aerial Duels Won % | 78% |
| Interceptions | 10 |
| Blocked Shots | 7 |
Arne Slot short on centre-back cover
Any injury for van Dijk would be a devastating blow for Slot with Geovanni Leoni set to miss the rest of the campaign with an ACL inury.
Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez are the only other two options available to Slot, and the latter has also filled in on occasions at right-back.
Recapturing van Dijk’s best form though is a must for Slot, with his leadership also a key attribute which will help the Dutchman through this tough spell.