Rafa Benitez was involved in a live question and answer session with The Athletic yesterday, and, of course, many of the things he was asked about referred to his time at Anfield.
The Spaniard named the two players he felt were underappreciated during his time at the club, but he was also asked about which member of the current squad he would have loved to have in his 2008/09 team, which lost only twice all season but still came second in the Premier League.
Benitez said: “Van Dijk, he would help. Not because the others are not good enough but because in his position he is maybe the best at the moment.
“We had Torres and Gerrard so we had lots of good attacking players, but as centre-backs, although I was really pleased with my players, Van Dijk is maybe playing at another level now.”
READ MORE:
Germany star ‘would only leave the Bundesliga for the Reds or the two Spanish giants’
Perhaps if the Reds had had Virgil van Dijk back then, that Premier League title drought would have already been over.
As it is, the chase is still on, and with Van Dijk in the side now, alongside world-class talents such as Mo Salah and Sadio Mane in attack, it could be set to end this season.
The Reds have already won the Champions League with Van Dijk in the team, and will find out their opponents for the group stages for this season’s competition later on today.