Van Dijk

The centre-back situation  Last season, Liverpool had no centre-backs. Now, the Reds allegedly have too many.  According to a report, albeit not the most reliable ones, Joe Gomez isn’t happy with his situation at Anfield. The 24-year-old is yet to start in the Premier League this term and the majority of his minutes have arrived in...

What a difference a few months make. The majority of last season saw Liverpool’s central defenders fall away, in an horrific series of season ending injuries. Once Dejan Lovren and Ki-Jana Hoever were sold last summer, it was predictable that the failure to recruit, in defence, would come back to bite the reds. That...

Ibrahima Konate has made just two starts for Liverpool following his £36million transfer from RB Leipzig this summer.  The first arrived in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League and then he was included in the starting XI for the 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Norwich City. It has now been close...

Centre-back partnerships can offer sublime foundations and turn teams into serial winners. Alessandro Costacurta and Franco Baresi jump to the front of that formidable list, as a partnership that allowed the rest of the side to dominate literally everyone. In the modern game (especially within the Premier League), the ferocity of play and sheer culmination...

Under the Roy Evans regime, Neil Ruddock, John Scales, Phil Babb & Mark Wright were the options in defence. They were the central defenders in the mid nineties that saw a period of great attacking football from the reds. The likes of Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman were part of an exciting line up...

Earlier on in pre-season, Liverpool journalists claimed Ibrahima Konate was likely going to start the season alongside Joel Matip in defence. It was something of a surprise to see Virgil van Dijk named alongside the former Schalke man in the starting XI against Norwich City on Saturday. He'd come through the friendlies unscathed but it...

If you're expecting a memorable summer in the transfer market at Liverpool, you're in for a horrible shock. Unfortunately, this isn't FIFA or Football Manager, so the Reds won't be splashing an endless stream of cash, as Jurgen Klopp's men look to bounce back from this most dispiriting of seasons. Given the impact that COVID-19 has...

When Liverpool paid a club-record £75million to bring Virgil van Dijk to Anfield, they hadn’t conceded fewer than 40 Premier League goals in a single season since 2009/10. On a couple of occasions, they’d even conceded 50.  To challenge for a place in the top four, teams generally had to finish with a goal difference...

With so many defensive injuries, Liverpool's season has really suffered. It'll take no level of footballing comprehension to know that without Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip for most of the season the Reds have suffered in a defensive sense. But so many absences in their back-line has hurt the Anfield club elsewhere. Trent Alexander...

Joe Gomez has now been a Liverpool player for almost six years, which doesn't seem possible. In fact, he is now the fourth-longest-serving player at Anfield, behind Jordan Henderson, Divock Origi and James Milner, yet is still only 23 years of age. Gomez's Liverpool career has been a curious one, with endless moments of promise, exceptional...