"It's going to be strange" – Virgil van Dijk reveals what he will miss at Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp leaves

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has opened up on what he will miss about Jurgen Klopp after the Reds manager's departure at the end of the ongoing 2023-24 term.

Earlier this January, Klopp confirmed that he will step down from his role along with his coaching staff at the end of the campaign. He has relished a fine time at Anfield so far, lifting eight trophies along the way.

Speaking recently on the Men in Blazers podcast, Van Dijk was asked to comment on Klopp's impending exit. The 32-year-old said (h/t TBR):

"Just the human being... yes, he's a bit of a father for us as a squad. He's been that steady figure for so many years. It's going to be strange not having him after this season. I don't want to speak too much about it because we're still in the mix of it [in the Premier League] and still focussed on the things we want to achieve."

Since arriving at Liverpool in October 2015, Klopp has helped transform the Anfield club into an European heavyweight. The 56-year-old coach has guided his team to four Premier League title races and three UEFA Champions League finals, winning both competitions once.

So far, the former Borussia Dortmund manager has managed 477 matches across competitions for Liverpool. He has won 298 games and lost 82 times so far, netting 1066 goals and conceding 532 in the process.

Mark Lawrenson backs Liverpool to defeat Brighton & Hove Albion in upcoming match

In his column for British betting website Paddy Power, Reds great Mark Lawrenson predicted a 2-1 triumph for his former club in their league match against Brighton & Hove Albion. He wrote:

"This will be a really open game, that's for certain, but Brighton have struggled a bit this season. They've been knocked out of Europe but they're still a decent team who will give you a really good game on the day. Liverpool will be desperate to win this, especially after losing [4-3] to Manchester United in the [FA Cup quarter-final on March 17] where they had loads of chances to win it."

The Reds, who have lost just five of their 46 overall outings so far this season, are second in the 2023-24 Premier League table with 64 points from 28 matches. They were on a nine-game unbeaten run before crashing to a 4-3 FA Cup defeat against Manchester United.

Brighton, on the other hand, are currently in eighth spot in the league table with 42 points from 28 games. They have tasted defeat five times in their past 10 matches across all competitions, winning four of them.