Virgil van Dijk says Mo Salah is still ‘so important’ for Liverpool
By Carl Markham, Press Association
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has stressed the continued importance Mohamed Salah has as the club look to make a success of their season.
The Egypt international had one of his best games of a so-far underwhelming campaign with a penalty and an assist in the 3-0 win over Brighton – in which Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai scored – as Liverpool cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Salah has started every match since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations. Prior to his departure he was benched for four and omitted completely for one.
That was after going public with his frustrations and suggesting his relationship with head coach Arne Slot had broken down, casting doubts over his immediate future.
The situation appears to have eased during his absence on international duty and he now appears to be more in tune with what Slot requires from him.
He may have scored only two club goals since November 1st but Van Dijk insisted Salah had other qualities which were not so visible.
“I think Mo is still so important for us. He is still a leader and important for me personally, as a captain, to have around and to have him on the pitch as his presence benefits the team,” he said.
“He always gives the team more than goals. There’s obviously a lot of focus on his goals at the moment and that’s also part of his life because he sets the standards so extremely high that when he doesn’t score as much he gets criticised.
“For us nothing has changed, we all want him to score and we all want us to do well as a team but it’s not been an easy season and the only thing we and he can do is keep going and try to be important.
“There is a lot more than just to be out there trying to score goals, there are so many things people don’t see that are important to try to become a successful team.”
Despite the apparent truce off the field doubts remain over whether Salah will see out the final year of his contract, especially if his numbers do not improve.
But Van Dijk wants him to at least see out his current deal, adding: “The full focus is on trying to make this season a success first and then you never know what happens.
“I always want Mo to stay because I’m a good friend and we’ve been through the highs and not-so-highs together for so many years.”
While Salah’s form appears to be on the wane summer signing Milos Kerkez has overcome a difficult start to his Liverpool career and begun to show the form which made him a £40million left-back.
“It is pretty clear you definitely see an improvement. He is still so young and getting used to being a Liverpool player, it is a lot more than kicking a ball on the pitch, especially when the team has been inconsistent it’s not easy to play your best games,” said Van Dijk.
“For him it is to just keep improving and I think he can improve even more but that comes with experience, dealing with everything which comes his way on and off the pitch.”
