20 July 2023 , 13:45
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Liverpool new boy Dominik Szoboszlai has appeared to suggest that Virgil van Dijk will step in as the club's new captain if Jordan Henderson quits Anfield in the coming days.
Henderson has donned the armband since Reds legend Steven Gerrard left the club back in 2015 but has been heavily linked with a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League, where he is being courted by Al-Ettifaq. The pursuit is being driven by Gerrard, who was appointed as the club's new head coach earlier this month.
While personal terms have yet to be agreed, Henderson was omitted from the Liverpool squad that beat Karlsruher 4-2 in Germany on Wednesday after the Reds and Al-Ettifaq struck a £12million agreement for the veteran's services.
In Henderson's absence, Van Dijk was chosen to lead Liverpool out for the opening match of their pre-season trip to Germany. And suspicions that the Dutchman could be in the running to land the role on a permanent basis have been fuelled by a comment made by Szoboszlai on a social media post.
After Van Dijk commented on a post made by Szoboszlai, the midfielder responded with an emoji containing the letter C for captain. And while he could just have been referencing to Van Dijk taking the armband for one game, the Netherlands international has previously been lauded for his leadership qualities and would be seen by many as a natural successor to Henderson.
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A host of other Premier League players have been targeted by the Saudi Pro League in recent weeks with Fabinho also expected to move on from Merseyside this summer. He has been in talks with Al-Ittihad and also missed Wednesday's match.
Join the debate! Who do you think should be Liverpool captain if Henderson leaves this summer? Let us know here.
Dominik Szoboszlai has hinted that Virgil van Dijk could be the next Liverpool captain amid speculation over Jordan Henderson's future (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC)Henderson, meanwhile, has been given the green light to leave Liverpool's training camp in Germany as he continues to mull over his future plans.
However, despite reports that Henderson and Fabinho are reportedly close to agreeing to move on, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp stressed that nothing has been decided either way at this stage in a bid to dampen further speculation.
Speaking after the match on Wednesday, Klopp told the media: "As long as things are not really finally decided, we don’t have to talk about it. There will be a moment where we probably have to talk about it, but it’s not now.
"I don’t know that anything is decided, which means nothing to say in the moment. In the end, all of these decisions [over players] are made by me. And because I respect the players a lot, it’s usually with consent. It was in this case, and it is all fine."
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