With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez having returned to action in Liverpool’s pre-season tour in Austria, fans of the club are getting excited by the possibilities, however, former club legend, Jamie Carragher, has sounded a warning to the fans not to get too carried away.
The Dutchman was a colossus in the season before last and a major reason why Liverpool went on to win their first English top-flight title in 30 years.
However, after his season-ending injury in the first Merseyside derby of the last campaign, the Reds seemingly went to pot and were out of the title reckoning long before the end of the season.
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Carragher, speaking at a Soccer Aid event, cited by the Liverpool ECHO, explained every Liverpool fan’s dilemma.
“I think we have to be careful and I think Jurgen Klopp will be,” Carragher said.
“I don’t think we should expect that Virgil Van Dijk comes back into Liverpool and Liverpool are going to automatically win the league again this season.
“[…] I don’t really envy Jurgen Klopp picking that centre-back partnership for the first game.”
The clamour for both centre-backs to return from the first match of the season will be at fever pitch ahead of the opening fixture of 2021/22.
Tempting though it may be to give the lion’s share of responsibility back to the first-choice centre-back pairing as quickly as possible, for their and the clubs long-term benefit, they should be re-introduced gradually.