Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk has spoken out about the club’s silverware hopes for next season, admitting that they are “determined to write their own history.”
The Reds came close in the 2017/2018 season by reaching the Champions League Final, where they lost out to Real Madrid – the nearest that they have come to winning a trophy since 2012, when they won the League Cup.
He was quoted by Sky Sports as saying: “With the players we have and we had already last season we can compete in every competition. Hopefully we are going to do something special this year. I don’t like to look too far ahead – we just need to do the talking on the pitch and make sure we perform well.”
Boss Jurgen Klopp has already spoken about their aim to challenge for honours in the upcoming season, bringing Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and goalkeeper Allison for an estimated £176 million, more than any other club in the league.
The 6″3 (source: Transfermarkt) colossus admits that Liverpool should be challenging for both European and domestic honours next term, especially now that the squad has been significantly strengthened.
“Everyone in the squad wants to win something. We know it is going to be a very hard season,” he tells Sky Sports.
OPINION
Virgil Van Dijk evidently feels that there is a lot of pressure on Liverpool to win something next year, particularly as they have splashed the cash this summer – most notably a record fee for a goalkeeper in the shape of Allison. However, when a club spends money on players like the Reds have, then there is already the expectation there to win silverware – it is whether the new players, as well as the current players, are able to live up to that expectation. Klopp’s side needs to take this with a pinch of salt and carry on with their season the way they would normally do, otherwise that pressure can start to get to you. Nevertheless, it would be extremely surprising if they did not win a trophy, as it would indicate that the effort made to improve the team was partially wasted. Van Dijk is right in saying that they need to do ‘something special’ this year – and by the looks of things, they will.
