Van Dijk: No player can replace what Egypt star Salah gave Liverpool

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says the club will not be able to directly replace Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah following his departure at the end of last season.

Van Dijk acknowledged the significant impact Salah had at Liverpool, while insisting the squad must improve collectively if they are to challenge for the Premier League title again.

The Egyptian forward’s departure leaves Liverpool without one of the most influential players of their recent era.

Liverpool must improve after difficult season

Van Dijk said Liverpool’s performances last season fell below the standards expected at the club and that the squad must respond positively as they begin a new campaign.

“As captain of Liverpool and as a player in the squad, I want to compete for the Premier League title, but you also have to be realistic, and we saw how strong Arsenal were last year. We saw how consistent they were, and of course if you look at their squad at the moment, they also have good depth in their ranks.”

He added: “But looking at myself and our team, I feel that we have the quality that certainly qualifies us to compete for the Premier League title, but we have to perform much better than we did last year, and that’s a fact.”

Van Dijk described last season as unacceptable by Liverpool’s standards and stressed the importance of responding to disappointment.

“What did I learn from last season? I think the most important thing in all of that is that we had a season that was completely unacceptable for a Liverpool player and by Liverpool standards. Of course, you can’t be perfect all the time in life.”

Van Dijk highlights Salah’s unique contribution

The Netherlands defender was also asked about Salah’s departure and whether Liverpool would miss the Egypt international.

Van Dijk said the club should appreciate what Salah contributed rather than simply focus on finding a direct replacement for him.

“Nothing lasts forever, and of course you remember Mohamed Salah, which is entirely justified, because I don’t think we will ever be able to replace a player of this value and the way he performed and what he gave to the club, and in my opinion, that is a good thing.”

Salah’s exit brings an end to a highly successful period at Liverpool, where the Egyptian became one of the club’s most important attacking players.

Liverpool begin again

Despite the changes to the squad, Van Dijk believes Liverpool still have enough quality to compete for major honours.

“You can’t always be at the top, but what matters is how you react to it, and it’s up to us and what we do every day now, as we start from scratch again. Everything is open to us, the competitions are waiting for us, and that’s exciting. So that will be our full focus, and we have to be much better than we were last year.”

Van Dijk also spoke about his training experience, describing the sessions as intense and highlighting the tactical work and small-sided games involved.

“Describe Iraola’s training in one word? Intense football. Yes, things were good. Lots of work, lots of training sessions, tactical sessions, mini-matches. Yes, things were good.”

For Liverpool, the challenge now is to rebuild without a player who has been central to their attack for years, while maintaining their ambitions of competing for the Premier League title.