One Liverpool player has admitted that a particular teammate can occasionally ‘annoy’ him, but he means it ‘for the greater good’ of the collective.
Jarell Quansah has had the benefit of having one of the world’s best centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk alongside him during his breakthrough to the Reds’ first team, and the 21-year-old reflected on how the captain specialises in imparing on-field advice to the rest of the players.
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The youngster said (via Evening Standard): “The way Virgil talks you through the game, I’ve never heard anyone like it. He might annoy us at times but it’s all for the greater good.
“With all the experience he has and the situations he’s been in, it’s only fair that he can share his knowledge so we can be the best players we can.”
Even before he replaced Jordan Henderson as Liverpool captain, Van Dijk was renowned for being an especially vocal presence on the pitch during matches, something which was firmly in evidence when games took place without fans in attendance.
It’s clear from the way that Quansah speaks about his teammate that he holds him in incredibly high regard and that any ear-bashings which might be administered are done with the intention of maximising the team’s performance by individials improving their standards.
When Henderson and James Milner both left in 2023, their exits threatened to leave a huge void in terms of leaders on and off the field at Anfield, but the Dutch defender has stepped up effortlessly in that regard.
For any young centre-backs coming through at Liverpool – or indeed any players coming into the first team either from the academy ranks or elsewhere – there can’t be a much better education than to have Van Dijk as an in-game mentor, given his vast trophy-winning pedigree and experience of more than 600 senior career appearances across club and country.
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