Back in 2014 when Liverpool surrendered a 3-0 lead to Crystal Palace in the second half of the game, it cost them a shot at the Premier League title. Then manager Brendan Rodgers failed to replicate that success in the next season and was finally sacked from Anfield back in 2015.
German talisman Jurgen Klopp took over the club and in his first half-season, took Liverpool to the Europa League final, with some memorable victories to cherish for the fans. They failed to win the final and were a season without European football, but Klopp managed to turn that into a decent one, where he helped the Reds back to the Champions League.
Fast-forward to the summer of 2017, the Reds were firmly in the Champions League, having added a star player like Mohamed Salah, to improve their quality. However, the whole Virgil van Dijk saga left the fans fuming, turning the summer transfer window into a rather painful one for the Reds, around the world.
Missing out on Van Dijk was always going to be a huge loss for Liverpool but the fact that they had to apologize and decided not to spend on another centre-back has now cost them in almost every big game.
Liverpool have now lost three games in all competitions this season. At the Etihad, Sadio Mane’s red card complicated things for Klopp’s men but the defeats to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and to Leicester City in the League Cup will surely haunt them for the rest of the season.
They are yet to lose a game after the Wembley debacle, but their trip to the Sanchez Ramon Pizjuan in the 5th game of the Champions League earlier this week, saw them drop three crucial points, as Sevilla managed to script an incredible come-back, to help themselves to a 3-3 draw, after they were down 3-0 going into the break.
It was the third time that Liverpool surrendered a first-half lead to the Spanish opponents in just over two years under Klopp and there is now a sense of fear among fans, who are sure that they will face similar setbacks when they play the tougher teams in the competition in Europe.
To be fair, Sanchez Pizjuan has been a fortress for a year now, as Sevilla have not been beaten at home, even by the best of teams in Europe. But the fact that they went down from 3-0 to 3-3, is driving a large portion of the Liverpool fan-base mad.
Criticism has been thrown at almost everything concerned with the club, from the lack of leadership abilities in the squad to lack of quality in personnel in the backline and the midfield.
The Reds do have one of the best attacks in Europe at the moment but if they continue to shoot themselves in the foot like they did on Tuesday, it will only push the club further down into limbo.
Liverpool is certainly a club in the rise and even the draw at Sevilla has not pushed them out of the top place in their group in the UCL. They are certainly a team not many would want to face but in match situations, it is becoming more and more evident that they are not a team that can hold on to leads, let alone the slender ones.
While Alberto Moreno was culpable for two of the three goals in Seville, the Spanish full-back is not the only thing wrong with the club. The lack of a commanding centre-back has always haunted them, for more than half a decade now and the fact that they are yet to address it, having spent over £200m on recruits in that time, is quite puzzling.
The four consecutive 3-goal victories in recent games may have given them some momentum but the job they pulled in Spain shows an underlying need for a CB and may even a CDM, an issue Klopp has to rectify quickly.
The Reds were ready to spend over £60m on the Dutch international Van Dijk in the summer but Southampton managed to keep hold of the player, leaving Liverpool red-faced. Almost every supporter of the club had a mini-attack when the deadline ticked over without their club spending on a CB, in the summer transfer window.
So it does not come as a surprise that they are growing desperate for one now and Van Dijk still seems to be their priority.
A number of reports already claim that the 26-year old still has his mind set on a move to Anfield and that Liverpool are ready to meet his valuation in January. But with the number of problems in the squad at the moment, £60m+ on a CB is an investment decision that needs to be vetted properly.
The former Celtic man, with gifted technique, is one of the best CBs in the PL at the moment and though has not been in great form coming off an injury, early this season, still remains one of the best options for Liverpool to solve their problems.
Tall, commanding and more than capable with the ball at his feet, Van Dijk is a dependable centre-half, who can clear danger in the air as well as win balls on the ground. He is a pro-active defender, who is adept at marshalling his backline as a leader, something Liverpool completely lack at the moment.
Joel Matip, who looks decent in most games, is still not the right man to act as the senior CB in Liverpool’s backline and Van Dijk’s signature will immediately solve the issue.
However, the way the Dutch ace has come out this season has now seen many a Liverpool fan doubt if he is the right man for them. Spending £60m+ on a CB will leave Liverpool with fewer funds to improve on other areas of the field so should they look at cheaper options?
Two names that are constantly doing the rounds as Van Dijk alternatives at Anfield are Jose Gimenez from Atletico Madrid and Stefan de Vrij of Lazio. The Uruguayan defender from La Liga is out of a contract at the end of the season and could be available for free while De Vrij has been on the club’s radar for quite a while now and is out of a contract at the end of the next season.
Both players are way cheaper alternatives to Van Dijk but have their own issues. Lack of experience in England might see both players take time to adjust to the league, leaving the Reds still short of quality at the back while De Vrij’s injury history makes him even bigger of a worry.
In all fairness, Liverpool should have the money to fund a move for the Southampton man and if it was Klopp who decided not to spend on another name in the summer, then this whole piece is redundant as he will surely go back for him in January, even if it puts a big hole in the clubs pocket.
However, if Klopp was devoid of options in the summer, he is not anymore and there is no sense in spending all the money on a player, who could yet turn into a failure.
It was not long ago that the Reds spent £20m on another player for the same role, from the same club and that has not turned out well for them. So any decision the club takes regarding this move needs to be analyzed carefully, as it could have huge consequences on the club’s future.
Van Dijk is not going to turn Liverpool into European champions miraculously but if Liverpool can sign him, it will at least solve a problem that has been pulling the club down for almost a decade now.
At the moment, Klopp will want his troops to concentrate on the game against Chelsea at the weekend and with Joel Matip, who missed the last two games, set to return from injury, this debate should be put aside and fans from around the world should be behind the team, pushing the debacle at Seville out of their minds, as soon as possible.
