Liverpool could have Virgil van Dijk alternative as Arne Slot faces decision on five players

Alexis Mac Allister’s leadership qualities have been praised by former Liverpool star Gary McAllister, with the Argentine potentially offering an alternative to succeed Virgil van Dijk as captain.

Mac Allister enjoyed a fine first season at Anfield, where he has firmly established himself in Liverpool’s midfield since arriving from Brighton. The Argentine scored seven goals and added the same number of assists in 46 appearances across all competitions.

Mac Allister has already become a firm favorite among the club’s fans, with little doubt that he was Liverpool’s best signing last summer. It’s not just his performances that have impressed though, with McAllister lauding his leadership qualities.

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“I think, you know, he is obviously an experienced player. He played at Brighton and he has played in our league and he has now the season under his belt,” McAllister told The Redmen TV.

“He’s obviously a World Cup winner and I just think the fact he scored a couple of fantastic goals and I think in some of the tight games when we were still involved, when there was still talk about quadruples and trebles, he was coming up with some amazing passes and moments in matches when you needed some.

“So, I think he will become a natural leader someday. I think he has taken that upon himself. He is not the captain of the side, but he is starting to lead and lead things in the middle of the park.”

Liverpool currently has a five-man leadership group, headed up by Van Dijk, with vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Alisson and Mohamed Salah also involved. It will be up to Arne Slot whether he retains the same group put together by Jurgen Klopp this summer. If he wants to add another name to it though, Mac Allister could be front of the queue.

Liverpool.com says: You would fully expect Alexander-Arnold to succeed Van Dijk as Liverpool captain when the time comes. It’s good for the Reds to have options though.

Whether Slot retains the leadership group remains to be seen, but he will have plenty of candidates to add to it. As well as Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai could be in with a shout, with the midfielder set to lead Hungary at this summer’s Euro 2024.