Danny Murphy has suggested something about Virgil van Dijk which he believes may sound a little silly after being asked about the future of Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah.
It is looking set to be a fascinating summer at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp gears up to step aside as Liverpool manager. And with that, a number of big changes could be on the cards.
Interestingly, Liverpool have three key players approaching the final year of their contracts, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah all potentially becoming free agents in 2025.
Salah has been Liverpool’s talisman almost since the moment he arrived on Merseyside, while Trent Alexander-Arnold appears to have found a role which plays to his strengths.
Danny Murphy makes ‘silly’ claim about Virgil van Dijk
But when asked about the chances of keeping Salah this summer, Danny Murphy told talkSPORT that the greater priority for the Reds should be ensuring that their captain goes nowhere.
“I actually think the more important signing to keep is van Dijk, I know that sounds a bit silly because of Salah’s goals, but Liverpool don’t struggle to make chances,” he said.
“They have obviously in the recent month to six weeks struggled to convert them, of course, we know that, but they don’t struggle to make chances. I think van Dijk going would be a bigger blow than Salah, in my opinion.”
Liverpool much more prepared for life after Mohamed Salah
You can definitely understand Murphy’s perspective. Of course, Salah will be remembered as one of the greatest attackers the Premier League has ever seen, and he is showing few signs of slowing down.
But Liverpool do have so much depth in attack, with the likes of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez. Cody Gakpo is enjoying a really good spell right now, while Harvey Elliott would surely be playing on the right of the front three a lot more often were it not for Salah.
The likes of Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah are still learning their game, so having van Dijk alongside them, who is so assured and composed, makes a huge difference.
Van Dijk is potentially not the force he once was, but he is still one of the very best centre-backs in the Premier League and a real leader in the Liverpool ranks.
Murphy may feel it sounds silly to suggest that keeping van Dijk is more important, but you would not be surprised if plenty of Liverpool fans did agree.