Gary Neville has weighed in on which Liverpool player would best suit this current Manchester United team ahead of Sunday’s clash at Old Trafford.
The two fierce rivals lock horns for the second time in three weeks after last month’s triumphant FA Cup tie, which saw the seven-goal thriller culminate with the Red Devils reigning victorious in extra-time.
Now, there are three points up for grabs as Jurgen Klopp faces United for the final time as Liverpool boss in a Premier League meeting.
It provides Erik ten Hag the chance to not only aid his side’s top-four quest, though, that has slipped further out of their grasp following last Sunday’s dismal draw to Brentford, but he can inflict a significant dagger blow on Liverpool’s title hopes; they currently sit atop the table with a two-point lead over Arsenal.
The United faithful will be glad to see the back of Klopp when the time comes this year, mainly due to the success he brought the Merseyside outfit, including their first league trophy in 30 years. One more this season would see the two clubs tied on 20.
Neville hails Liverpool stalwart
When analysing the world-class squad at the German’s disposal, Neville told The Overlap which player he’d have liked to see don Manchester red over Merseyside red.
“I would say [Virgil] van Dijk,” he began. “I just think that Van Dijk would bring dominance to the team and a presence in the team that we haven’t got. We haven’t got a forward as good as Mo Salah, but we’ve got talented forwards.
“I always think if you’ve got a spine of strength and presence… We always say, don’t we, ‘Oh, there’s no Roy Keanes anymore, there’s no Vincent Kompanys anymore, there’s no John Terrys’ – there actually is one now at Liverpool, when you think about how he’s performed this season, Van Dijk. He’s a massive presence on that pitch.
“He’s not the same character as some of those that I’ve mentioned, but he actually is quite dominant on the pitch. He speaks a lot more than people might think, and he actually is someone you can see that’s got an aura about him.”
The former captain continued: “I think that if you want to change Manchester United’s complete and utter culture, then they need that dominant person who holds them together. And I think Van Dijk would control [Kobbie] Mainoo, even someone like Antony or [Marcus] Rashford. I think he would build them, not break them.”
