Virgil van Dijk is the latest Liverpool employee to issue a not-so-subtle nod toward the club’s owners, FSG, regarding expectations for the summer window.
The Dutchman nodded to the scale of investment evidently required beyond the current campaign, appearing to reference the virtually set-in-stone departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita once their contracts expire.
“Obviously players are going to leave,” the 31-year-old told the Echo.
“That’s obviously been announced so we have to [recruit], if we want to be where we have been the last five years, then we obviously need quality imports, especially with those players leaving. I think that’s quite obvious.
“But everyone knows that’s going to be very difficult, it is going to be very difficult to find the right players but the club has to do their job in this case.”
James Milner is another name fans may have to accept will no longer grace the Anfield turf – at the very least in a playing capacity.
Regardless of how many players stroll out of Merseyside, however, the need for fresh bodies, fresh ideas and fresh impetus – particularly in the middle of the park – cannot be denied.
This is especially true after Real Madrid consigned us to a 6-2 defeat over two legs in the Round of 16, firmly establishing our collapse in status in club competition’s greatest tournament.
The damage is not irreversible, though clear action has to be taken at a time when the solutions are no longer available in the squad, and it seems that, if Jose Enrique’s claim on a livestream is to be taken as gospel, work has already begun on building the next great Liverpool side.
The Spaniard boldly claimed that Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch (with whom he shares a representative) ‘is our player’ before his co-host prevented him from elaborating further (as relayed by the Mirror).
It’s a solid start, if this is indeed the case, and hopefully we’ll see further names walk in through the door should this allegation be verified.