Virgil van Dijk has delivered his most candid assessment yet of the leadership crisis developing at Liverpool, admitting the club’s senior group is falling apart as a wave of departures strips the dressing room of the figures who have defined Anfield’s culture for the past seven years.
Speaking to reporters following the Merseyside derby victory over Everton, in which van Dijk scored a towering stoppage time header to secure a 2-1 win, the Dutch captain was direct about the challenge facing the club in reconstructing its leadership structure.
Mohamed Salah and vice-captain Andy Robertson are both confirmed to be leaving at the end of the season on free transfers. Goalkeeper Alisson is also considering a move, with Juventus understood to be monitoring his situation, which would leave van Dijk as the only surviving member of Liverpool’s established leadership core heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
Van Dijk told reporters including the Times’ Paul Joyce that players have to step up and that some will grow into leadership or already have it in them. He added that the summer and pre-season would be an interesting development period in terms of how manager Arne Slot assesses the new shape of the squad’s character.
When asked directly whether a reset was necessary after a season that has fallen well short of expectations, van Dijk deflected the structural question upward, saying people should ask those higher up and that he believed the club’s hierarchy would have a plan.
On the vice-captaincy vacancy created by Robertson’s exit, van Dijk said he had his opinion and always shared it with the club, but declined to name his preferred candidate publicly.
Ibrahima Konate is considered the most likely successor, particularly following reports that the French centre back is close to signing a new contract at Anfield. Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo are also seen as candidates, though most first team regulars will return late from the World Cup, delaying any formal announcement until pre-season.
Liverpool’s summer will be their second consecutive period of major reconstruction. The previous window saw the club spend a club record £446 million while simultaneously losing Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and several other established squad members, a combination that left the squad thinner in leadership and experience than the final finish suggested going into this season.
Van Dijk said he did not want a repeat of the current campaign and that however the summer unfolded, Liverpool had to find a way to attack next season with the consistency that had been missing for much of this one.
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