2 months ago
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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has praised the club's "brilliant" work in the transfer market, stating that it's now up to him and his fellow players to "create" another Premier League title-winning team.
The Reds brought in nine senior players and let go of several first-team members in a record-breaking summer transfer window at Anfield. Liverpool splashed out around $600 million on new signings. The additions of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, and others led some to believe that Arne Slot's team would be even stronger this season.
However, after an impeccable start in terms of results, Liverpool's unsettling performances have caught up with the team, losing its last three matches in all competitions before the October international break. Newcomers like Isak and Wirtz have experienced initial difficulties in attack, while the Reds' defence, led by Van Dijk, has been leaky.
Yet, the Liverpool skipper maintains that the club's summer spending spree was more about "replacing" departing players rather than adding fresh faces to Slot's existing squad, and they'll need time to blend.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez were all sold, each having played at least 44 matches last season.
"I think the club have done brilliantly in terms of the additions that we have made but they are not really additions because obviously we have lost so much quality that was so important over the last few years," Van Dijk told the Liverpool ECHO. "Lucho (Luis Diaz), Darwin Nunez, Jarell Quansah, Harvey Elliott; that's obviously a lot of quality that we have sold.
"We had to replace those and replace them with quality and we know the market nowadays, it is just difficult but the club did brilliantly in getting these guys over the line. Now it is time to work and create a very, very good team on the pitch to compete in every competition that we are in. That is the target."
The Netherlands international continued: "To retain the title after winning it is such a difficult thing. We didn't manage to do it after winning it last time (in 2020), Manchester City managed to do it but it is such a difficult thing."
Van Dijk also emphasized that despite the squad changes, Liverpool must preserve their dressing room ethos. The 34-year-old is approaching a decade at Anfield, and few are better positioned to educate new arrivals about the club's identity.
"The most important thing is the culture of the club, that never changes," Van Dijk went on to say. "That is the most important thing to keep at Liverpool. There are values at the club that everyone has to follow.
"It all starts with these values, working hard and doing it for the fans from all around the world and hopefully you can be successful. The quality is there but the guarantees are not, so you have to work for it each and every day, first and foremost, to do it in games.
"You know since I have been at the club, from the day I walked in, obviously with Jurgen (Klopp) as the manager and Hendo (Jordan Henderson) as the captain, the values that they showed me back then I wanted to keep carrying on.
"That is how it should be for the next few years and whatever happens after I finally have to go. There is the Liverpool way and that is the key and the start to our success I would say. Being the biggest club is definitely the aim from the club and definitely from us as players as well. We love to be (champions) and staying on top as well, but I think the Premier League is so, so difficult."
Cadbury Ambassador Virgil Van Dijk is celebrating Game Changers up and down the country and recognising those who offer small acts that make a big difference. To find out more head to @cadburyuk on Instagram.
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