Feisty Van Dijk shrugs off massive Liverpool issue EVERYONE fears is really behind their struggles

Virgil van Dijk has snapped back at a journalist who has suggested Liverpool’s failure to adequately replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and their ongoing issues at right-back is the main reason behind their struggles, while Daniel Sturridge has named the hard-working star Arne Slot may now regret selling this summer.

The Reds invested heavily this summer, splashing out a whopping £440m (€505m, $600m) on several high-quality new players to try and ensure their status as Premier League champions was not a flash in the pan. And while they started the season with six straight wins, the wheels appear to have fallen off in recent weeks following three successive defeats – the first time that has happened during Slot’s Liverpool reign.

The latest of those losses, coming during added-on time during a 2-1 loss at Chelsea on Saturday, has seen the Reds surrender their position as Premier League leaders, with Arsenal now going into the latest international break on top of the tree.

While Slot is refusing to panic and the senior players in the squad continue to preach calm, Reds fans and those in the media have been very quick to highlight Liverpool’s weakness at right-back and, with Mo Salah’s failure to track back and help out the players behind him, Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea were able to expose the weakness in the strongest possible fashion on Saturday.

Time and again, Marc Cucurella managed to exploit that area and it was his untracked dart to the byline on Saturday that ultimately proved decisive as he crossed for Estevao Willian to slide in the winner.

Despite that very apparent flaw, Van Dijk is adamant that he is not to blame for Liverpool’s string of defeats, snapping back at an NBC Sports journalist: “The right-back is not the issue if you’re trying to do that.”

The 34-year-old then challenged the reporter: “You asked two questions about the right-backs. Maybe you feel like the right-back is the problem?”

Asked if the club were missing the influence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left at the end of his contract for Real Madrid, Van Dijk continued: “It’s not about him.

“He had amazing quality, but he left us. Last year, we played a lot of games without him as well. Obviously, we were all gutted that he left in the summer, but that is not the issue.”

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Van Dijk makes Liverpool admission as Sturridge names ‘workhorse’ Reds miss

Continuing, Van Dijk added: “It was always going to be a difficult season. We have to go through this as one – not only us as players but also the staff, and our fans who celebrated being champions.

The Dutch defender, however, is refusing to panic, adding. “There is still plenty of work to do.

“We know in football, every three or four days, things can change and momentum can change.”

While Van Dijk has played down Alexander-Arnold’s absence, former Reds star Daniel Sturridge feels the loss of Luis Diaz is actually hitting Liverpool the hardest, with the Colombian’s work-rate and ability to track back and defend from the front now benefitting Bayern Munich instead.

“Luis Diaz is a massive miss for me,” Sturridge told Sky Sports. “When you look at Liverpool last year and how they used to press, I think arguably he was the one who would set the press in the front three.”

Having shipped the Colombian and Darwin Nunez out, Liverpool moved to bring in Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak and, while both have very obvious qualities, may not do as much for the team as Diaz did.

“Ekitike and Isak and Wirtz work hard – we can’t question their quality.

“But Diaz would sacrifice himself defensively. That’s what they’ve got to figure out now, who in that attack is going to give themselves up a little bit.”

He added:  “In a front three, there always has to be one guy who goes, ‘I’m not stats hungry’.

“Right now, I’m not sure the manager knows what he’s going to do.”

Latest Liverpool news: Salah exit date named; FOUR new defenders eyed

One man who has way below his best at Stamford Bridge was Salah, and, off the back of that appearance, a journalist has explained why the Reds could be open to offloading the Egyptian before his deal expires in 2027 and with three potential successors having been identified by Slot and Richard Hughes.

Elsewhere, Liverpool have been tipped to raid Newcastle United for another of their standout stars, while their wishlist to sign a new defender has seen four new names added to it.

That is amid ongoing speculation over Ibrahima Konate’s future, with the Frenchman’s deal due to expire on June 30.

Providing the very latest, David Ornstein has explained where the Reds stand on convincing Konate to sign a new contract and with a Real Madrid’s transfer ‘suspicion’ coming to light.

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