“Last year put me in a lot of doubt about Van Dijk” – Jose Enrique names 2 alternative captains Liverpool should have considered 

Former Liverpool left-back Jose Enrique recently stated that Andrew Robertson and Alisson Becker would have been better choices to be club captain over Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk was named the new Liverpool captain on August 1 following Jordan Henderson's departure to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq. Trent Alexander-Arnold was also promoted to vice-captain.

Jurgen Klopp had many senior, experienced options to give the armband to, with the likes of Alisson, Robertson, Mohamed Salah, and Van Dijk in contention.

Andy Robertson has captained the Reds twice since his arrival at the club in 2017. The Scotsman is also viewed as a buoyant character in the dressing room by constantly uplifting his teammates.

Hence, it comes as no surprise to learn that Jose Enrique was surprised to see Van Dijk being given the armband. The Spaniard spoke to Grosvenor Sport and said (via Liverpool ECHO):

"I think it was unlikely that the next Liverpool captain would have been anyone other than Virgil van Dijk but if I was Jurgen Klopp I would have given it to either Andy Robertson or Alisson."

He added:

"He might not have wanted to give it to Alisson because he is the goalkeeper and you want it to be someone who is actually playing out on the pitch but I think he would deserve it."

Speaking about his doubts regarding Van Dijk and preferring Robertson as captain, Enrique said:

“I don’t think Liverpool really have another Jordan Henderson, but I like Robertson a lot. Robertson is a good leader and he always gives everything."

He added:

"Last year put me in a lot of doubt about van Dijk and I know he had some injuries but last year I didn’t see the van Dijk that I expected so that’s why I would have put Robertson ahead of him, but Klopp has gone with van Dijk as the captain."

Van Dijk has captained the Netherlands national team 43 times so the Anfield faithful will hope that the 32-year-old proves Enrique wrong next season.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp gives Alexis Mac Allister injury update

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp gave an injury update on the recently signed Alexis Mac Allister. The midfielder limped off at halftime following a knock to his knee during the Reds' 4-3 loss against Bayern Munich during their pre-season clash today (August 2).

The Reds No.10 has had an impressive start to his Anfield tenure following his £35 million acquisition from Brighton & Hove Albion last month. Unfortunately, he was substituted at the interval following a minor blow to his knee.

The Argentine was clearly in pain and clutched his knee upon impact. Many fans feared this to be a serious injury. But Klopp gave a positive assessment of the knock after the game. He said (via Liverpool FC's official website):

"Yeah, knee on knee. He could have played on. So firstly I got the information that it's too painful, so that was then clear that we will change. There's no need to push him through."

He continued:

"When I spoke afterwards, he said, 'No, no, I would have been fine.' But we didn't want to go [with] any risks. It's just knee on knee, bruise, that's it. It was fine."

Jurgen Klopp's men are set to end their pre-season schedule against Darmstadt on August 7.