Michael Owen has constructed his version of the ultimate footballer, combining the defensive dominance of Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and the finishing of Robbie Fowler.
Liverpool have had some top names grace the pitch over the years, including the aforementioned trio.
The Dutch centre-back remains at the club, and most recently netted the winner in the victory over Sunderland on Wednesday.
Change my mind: Liverpool would be CRAZY to let Konate leave 😣
He is back to his best!
Ibrahima Konate battles with Brian Brobbey during Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light (Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Stu Forster
Van Dijk arrived at Anfield from Southampton and is Liverpool’s most expensive January signing.
Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen also enjoyed prolific spells in the Reds’ frontline in years gone by.
While Owen was humble enough to leave himself out, he did include three past and present Liverpool stars when asked to build his perfect footballer.
Speaking to Applied Nutrition via TikTok, the former striker was asked to pick specific players for eight different traits
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He selected Van Dijk for defending and Fowler for finishing, while the rest of the players can be seen below:
Pace: Kyle Walker
Heading: Alan Shearer
Attitude: Wayne Rooney
Best weak foot: John Barnes
Most skilful: Zinedine Zidane
Leadership: John Terry
Free-kick: David Beckham
It’s interesting that despite playing together at Anfield and for England, Owen did not include Steven Gerrard.
The midfielder could have easily fitted into the attitude, leadership or even the free-kick categories.
How do you think Liverpool should handle the contract situations of Konate, Van Dijk, and Gomez?
Van Dijk (2027), Gomez (2027) and Konate (2026) are all out of contract soon!
Virgil van Dijk applauds supporters after Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at Anfield.
Credit: Liverpool FC/Getty Images
When will Virgil van Dijk leave Liverpool?
When all is said and done, Van Dijk will likely go down in history as one of the Premier League’s all-time best centre-backs.
However, Liverpool have begun to plan for the 34-year-old’s departure, already signing Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni within the last year.
Both are young stoppers with great potential who could become the Reds’ new centre-back pairing for years to come.
It’s not time to say goodbye to Van Dijk just yet, though, as he is under contract until 2027.
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