The Reds boss believes a Dutch centre-half, along with fellow long-term injury victim Joe Gomez, will be ready to start against the Canaries
Jurgen Klopp has delivered a confidence-boosting message to Liverpool supporters ahead of the club’s Premier League season opener against Norwich, with the Reds boss revealing that Virgil van Dijk is ready to start.
A commanding Dutch centre-half has not taken in a competitive appearance for club or country since suffering knee ligament damage in a Merseyside derby date with Everton on October 17, 2020.
It has been a long road back to full fitness for a talismanic figure at Anfield, but pre-season outings have helped him to rediscover match sharpness and it could be that he – along with fellow long-term injury victim Joe Gomez – figures from the off at Carrow Road on Saturday.
What has been said?
Quizzed by the Reds’ official website on whether Van Dijk and Gomez are ready for top-flight competition, Klopp has said: “I think so, it looks like [they are available to start]. But how it is with these kind of things, we have nothing to rush in this department.
“We just have to make then a decision on who will start, who will come on, things like this and if I think they are ready for 90 minutes then they are ready to start.
“If I think we have to take them off earlier then it makes no sense because centre-half is not actually a position where you want to change during a game and so we will see.
“But both look really good. An intense season is coming up. We will see how we decide that.”
Does Klopp know his best team?
Continuity was key for Liverpool as they secured memorable Champions League and Premier League title triumphs in 2019 and 2020.
A succession of untimely knocks delivered a humbling fall from grace for the Reds last season, but they are getting back to full strength – with Andy Robertson the only regular starter stuck on the treatment table at present.
Pre-season fixtures have presented Klopp with a welcome selection headache, with a team that has been relatviely quiet on the transfer front this summer showing in back-to-back friendly dates with Athletic Club and Osasuna that they have enough depth at their disposal.
Klopp added on whether those outings present him with a selection poser: “It does, it does. It sends a good message actually: that’s the way we have to play, that’s the way you have to perform. If you want to be in the team that’s actually the lowest level allowed and so that’s what we have to try now to figure out.
“[Tuesday] was a day off, Wednesday and [Thursday] sessions, and then Friday the [matchday] -1, so there are some decisions to make but these decisions are for one game, not for the season. So it’s not that much of a headache, to be honest.”
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