"The club has to do their job" - Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk urges the Anfield setup to sign quality reinforcements in the summer
Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk has urged the Reds to bring in quality players during the upcoming summer transfer window in a bid to strengthen their squad.
The Merseysiders have endured a very frustrating 2022-23 football campaign. They have fallen short in terms of results and performances judging by their standards.
Jurgen Klopp's team are currently sixth in the Premier League, six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand. They are also 24 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.
Their disappointing run of results also extends to Europe. The Reds were recently knocked out of the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League after reaching the final of the competition last season.
Real Madrid have eliminated Liverpool from the Champions League three years in a row 😳
Dominance 😤 https://t.co/hsFevJKJQ9
Liverpool suffered an embarrassing home and away defeat at the hands of Real Madrid to exit the competition on a 6-2 aggregate loss.
Meanwhile, highly rated centre-back Van Dijk has stressed that the Reds will need to take their summer recruitment seriously if they are to improve their squad.
Speaking about the need to bring in quality replacements for the team this summer, the Dutchman said:
"Obviously, players are going to leave. That’s obviously been announced, so we have to, if we want to be where we have been the last five years, we need quality imports, especially with those players leaving."
He continued:
“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. We still have a lot of games to play for us and we want to be in the Champions League. I think that will also help to attract the best players in the world. Not all the time, but it will definitely help.”
Liverpool are in need of serious reinforcements in a couple of key positions in their squad. Some first-team players are expected to leave the club this summer as their contracts expire by the end of the season.
Virgil van Dijk speaks on Liverpool's desire to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League
After crashing out of the UCL in the Round of 16, the Reds will now turn their attention to the Premier League to ensure they secure a top-four finish.
Anything short of that would see Liverpool miss out on Europe's most glamorous competition next season, a situation most Reds fans wouldn't want to happen.
Dutch defender Van Dijk has revealed that his Reds teammates will give everything to qualify for next season's Champions League. He said:
"We will give it absolutely everything because I want to play in the Champions League, we all want to play in the Champions League. The fans want to play in the Champions League. We are the players on the pitch, we have to perform and we have to show it but we also need our fans."
Liverpool will next face Manchester City away in the Premier League after the international break on April 1.