John Aldridge expects Virgil van Dijk to leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the season and has outlined his blueprint for the defence that should follow.
Writing in his Liverpool Echo column, the former striker praised the current back three of van Dijk, Ronald Araujo and Jeremy Jacquet for their cohesion, noting Araujo has brought stability and experience since his arrival. He also welcomed the prospect of Giovanni Leoni returning from injury, but made clear his priority: activating Liverpool’s £56m buyback clause on Jarell Quansah, who left for Bayer Leverkusen earlier this year.
Aldridge argued that Quansah has proved Arne Slot wrong after a limited run last season and is now thriving in the Bundesliga and for England. “It’s a no-brainer to get Quansah back next year,” he wrote, envisaging a long-term centre-back group of Araujo, Jacquet, Leoni and Quansah that would give Liverpool genuine strength in depth regardless of van Dijk’s departure.
On the immediate challenge ahead, Aldridge warned that Liverpool’s bid to maintain their unbeaten run against Manchester City could be severely hampered by injury to either Cody Gakpo or Alexander Isak. He suggested Lewis Koumas, despite showing promise, would find a game of that magnitude extremely tough at his age.
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