Liverpool news as the Reds are told to raid Tottenham and Ryan Gravenberch is slammed by a former Netherlands and Premier League striker
Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images)
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Arne Slot faces one of the most crucial weeks of his tenure as he attempts to revive Liverpool's flailing title challenge. The Reds boss has much to consider ahead of next Saturday's home game against Nottingham Forest once his international players to the club.
The 3-0 loss to Manchester City left Slot's side eighth in the table, eight points behind leaders Arsenal after five defeats in 11 matches, more than they suffered throughout the entirety of last season.
Slot must discover how to extract performances from his expensive squad to silence doubters and prevent his team from slipping away from the Champions League positions, let alone the title race. The ECHO brings you some key news lines from Anfield...
Reds urged to sign Van de Ven
Liverpool have been advised to approach Tottenham Hotspur for Virgil van Dijk's long-term successor.
The 34-year-old, who signed a new two-year deal earlier this year, is approaching the twilight of his career and the Reds will ideally want to address that vacancy before the Dutchman's departure. According to former Chelsea defender Khalid Boulahrouz, they should launch a move for impressive Spurs centre-back and international colleague Micky van de Ven, who is a decade younger than Van Dijk.
"I think he's the ideal successor to Virgil van Dijk, both for the Dutch national team and Liverpool," Boulahrouz told ESPN NL.
Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven
Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven are team-mates at international level
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"The question is, of course, what Virgil will do after the World Cup. When you've been playing in the Premier League for years, your body has taken a beating. You might start longing to take it a bit easier.
"And Liverpool is not crazy: if you're looking for a world-class left defender and you have enough money, you'll quickly end up with Van de Ven.
"The same goes for the Dutch national team. I think [Ronald] Koeman has long since realised that Van Dijk's successor is already there."
Gravenberch torn apart
In a verdict unlikely to resonate with anyone at Anfield, Ryan Gravenberch has controversially been labelled "lazy" while representing his country.
The midfielder is set to feature at next summer's World Cup with the Netherlands, who missed the opportunity to secure qualification with a match to spare after being held to a 1-1 draw by Poland on Friday. The criticism came from former Forest and Celtic forward Pierre van Hooijdonk, who accused him of failing to track runners.
Pierre van Hooijdonk
Pierre van Hooijdonk didn't hold back as he ripped into Gravenberch
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"It's laziness, because you think the ball won't fall there anyway," he said on NOS via Voetbal International as he analysed footage of Gravenberch. "When you have a lot of possession against those kinds of teams, you actually have a false sense of dominance."
Despite the result, it would require a miracle for the Netherlands not to clinch the top spot in Group G and secure automatic qualification. With just one match remaining against Lithuania on Monday, the Dutch hold a three-point lead over Poland, who have a significantly lower goal difference ahead of their final group match in Malta.
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