Adam Lallana has admitted that former Liverpool team-mate Fabinho has been nothing short of ‘sensational’ in the absence of Virgil van Dijk.
Last week, Liverpool were rocked by the news that Van Dijk, who placed second behind Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or race last year, was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The Reds failed to sign another centre-back this past summer after selling Dejan Lovren to Zenit St Petersburg, meaning that Jurgen Klopp is short on quality and recognised replacements for the Dutchman.
But Fabinho, a central midfielder by trade, has been dazzling in that centre-back role in the four matches Liverpool have had since Van Dijk’s absence.
And Lallana, who also left Anfield during the summer, paid tribute to the versatile Brazilian while doing punditry work for BT Sport on Tuesday night.
The Brighton & Hove Albion man said: “He’s the best defender in the world, but the characters they’ve got in the group, they’ll all know they’ve got to give that little bit more. You’ve seen that so far with Fabinho’s performances since he’s been asked to play centre-half and he’s been sensational.”
The bad news for Liverpool is that Fabinho lasted only half-an-hour of last night’s Champions League win over Midtjylland and it remains to be seen how serious his injury is.
If it’s bad, then January won’t come soon enough for Klopp and virtually every Reds fan out there.
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