Van Dijk and Wijnaldum voted third and fourth choice Liverpool captains after player vote, reveals Klopp

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has explained how a player vote has led to Virgil van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum being named third and fourth choice captains at Anfield.

Klopp was quizzed by reporters on the subject in his pre-match press conference at Melwood on Friday, with Van Dijk spotted wearing the armband on a number of occasions in recent weeks.

In the past, Klopp has made clear that the longest-serving Liverpool player on the pitch would be made captain if usual skipper Jordan Henderson and his No. 2 James Milner were both absent.

However, Van Dijk only joined Liverpool earlier this year, leading to question marks over a change in Klopp’s usual policy.

And speaking ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Cardiff this weekend, the Reds boss confirmed that he recently made his players take part in a vote to decide who would be the clubs’ third and fourth choice captains, with Dutchmen Van Dijk and Wijnaldum coming out on top.

“I decided Henderson and Milner will stay (as captain and vice-captain) – that is the 100% logical thing to do and it would have been as well like that if we had voted,” Klopp said.

“And then I said the next two, the players can vote, and now the two Dutch guys are in the row.

“The team decided number three for Virgil and number four for Gini Wijnaldum.

“If somebody had told me that that would happen in my life as a German, the two Dutch guys would have such an important role!”

Van Dijk a future club captain at Liverpool?

Plenty of Liverpool supporters have been calling for defensive rock Van Dijk to be made permanent skipper since his £75m arrival from Southampton in January.

However, Klopp has insisted on keeping Henderson as his first-choice captain, with the Reds midfielder also emerging as Gareth Southgate’s preferred vice-captain for England, behind Harry Kane.

A recent injury to Henderson has given other players a chance to take on the armband, though, and with James Milner rested in Liverpool’s Champions League win over Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday, Van Dijk was made skipper.

With Milner now into his thirties and Henderson’s spot in midfield under increasing scrutiny, might this be the start of a long-term relationship between Van Dijk and the captain’s armband at Liverpool?

The post Van Dijk and Wijnaldum voted third and fourth choice Liverpool captains after player vote, reveals Klopp appeared first on Squawka News.



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