Garth Crooks has named just one Liverpool player in his Premier League Team of the Season.
It’s been no secret that Liverpool are in a transitional phase and that notion has become particularly apparent towards the end of the campaign.
The Reds ended up finishing in third place, returning to the Champions League, though they completely fell away in the title race.
That is to be expected with such a young squad, admittedly, and now Arne Slot will be the likely successor to take them forward after Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
That said, despite a disappointing end, one Liverpool player has still made a Team of the Season.
Garth Crooks names Virgil van Dijk in his Team of the Season
Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Crooks has just named his Premier League Team of the Season and only one Liverpool player made it. That man was Virgil van Dijk.
“To have selected only one Liverpool player for my team says it all really. Liverpool have not only let the title slip from their grasp, they have shown signs that the pressure was starting to get to them,” the 66-year-old wrote.
“The departures of James Milner and Jordan Henderson cannot be quantified, but it was left to Virgil van Dijk to hold it all together.”
The BBC pundit noted that Klopp didn’t have a settled starting 11.
“Gone are the days when the team used to pick itself. Neither can we be sure what impact the timing of Jurgen Klopp’s announcement, that he was leaving Anfield at the end of the season, had on the players.
“All of these were factors of Liverpool’s title failure, but they are back in the Champions League – and who can forget that heroic performance by Van Dijk in the League Cup final against Chelsea?”
Virgil van Dijk returned to his usual best this season
It wasn’t so long ago that people were writing off van Dijk but he’s returned to his world-class best this season.
Aged 32, he still has a few years left at the highest level and will remain an integral part of Slot’s Liverpool.
The Dutchman is still regarded as one of the best defenders in the world and he’s certainly stepped up in a challenging year for the Mersesysiders.
