Jose Enrique has stated on Instagram that Virgil van Dijk will be Liverpool’s next captain following the departure of Jordan Henderson.
The former Liverpool left-back thinks it should be Andy Robertson or Alisson Becker because they would be ‘better choices’.
But he added that manager Jurgen Klopp ‘knows better’ and thinks he will pick his ice-cool centre-back, Virgil van Dijk, to take the armband.
With Jordan Henderson out of the door and now playing under the stewardship of Steven Gerrard in Saudi Arabia, his exit will leave a big void in the team.
In regards to on the pitch, he won’t be much of a miss because he was probably going to play a squad role this forthcoming season, but his leadership qualities and presence on the training ground is going to be very difficult to replace.
It does feel like the Reds are heading into a new era and this captaincy change is some proof of that, with Enrique posting the following message in the comments section of LiverpoolGoals Instagram post.
“It will be VVD (Virgil Van Dijk),” said Enrique. “Even if I believe Robertson or Alisson will be a better choice.
“But, obviously, the boss knows better than all of us.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool’s next captain?
All three above – Van Dijk, Alisson and Robertson are older than Trent Alexander-Arnold, and would, from that sense, be understandable picks.
But, it will be interesting to see if Klopp picks the outside choice of Alexander-Arnold, who is a local boy and someone, if things go well, would be able to wear that armband for a long time.
In terms of performances and recent form, Allison would be the safer bet because he was Liverpool’s best player last season and there are fewer question marks, if any, over the head of his than what someone like Van Dijk is facing because the £220k-a-week star (Spotrac) was off it last season.