Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke has stated on Instagram that it’s ‘big’ that Jurgen Klopp has named Virgil van Dijk as his new Liverpool captain.
The departure of Jordan Henderson, who joined Saudi Arabia side Al-Ettifaq, meant that a door was opened for someone to take the armband at Liverpool.
There were many contenders, including goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who has been the club’s consistent performer over the last 12 months.
Then there is Andy Robertson, who skippers Scotland, as well as the local boy, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
But Jurgen Klopp turned to his ice-cool defender Virgil van Dijk, with Trent as his deputy, as the Netherlands international stated on Instagram that it is an ‘incredibly proud moment for my family’.
In the comments section of his IG post, he was lauded by a number of his colleagues.
Ex-Liverpool man Dominic Solanke called it ‘big’, whilst Lucas Leiva added ‘Good luck, top man’ and Sami Hypia also sent his congratulations.
Can Van Dijk guide Liverpool to another round of success?
One of the big things Liverpool will miss about Henderson is his leadership skills because he was near-on faultless for the club.
The England international mirrored Klopp on the field of play, but does Van Dijk?
The answer is no, but that’s fine because the £220k-a-week star (Spotrac) is his own captain, and given the success of the last man, he has big pressure to try and help the Reds add more trophies to their cabinet.
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