Rio Ferdinand Advises Liverpool to Sign Star Stalwart Virgil van Dijk to fix 'Sloppy Defence'

Manchester United's legendary centre back Rio Ferdinand, has urged Jurgen Klopp to sign Southampton's star stalwart Virgil van Dijk in January, as he feels the side are currently lacking leaders.

Klopp was unfortunate not to come away with all three points against Chelsea on Saturday, as Willian's cross looped over Simon Mignolet late on, ensuring the points were shared in a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

The Reds were heavily linked to Van Dijk last summer, but a transfer failed to materialise and legal action was threatened due to Liverpool contacting the player without the Saints' permission.

The Merseyside giants withdrew their interest to avoid a messy saga in the pursuit of the player and Klopp opted not to search for alternatives.

The January window is now fast approaching and Liverpool are sure to be in the market for defensive acquisitions, as they currently sit eighth in number of clean sheets accumulated in the Premier League this season.

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Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes that the German manager should move for Van Dijk swiftly when the window opens.

Speaking on BT Sport (via thesportreview) after the match finished on Saturday, Ferdinand claimed: "When Jurgen Klopp’s looking to buy someone - he was in for Virgil van Dijk - and you hope he would have the stature, the personality, the presence, to lead a team.

"I do feel that they’re lacking something like that in the team."

Rio continued, revealing: "When things aren’t going their way, you get the vibe that the players are looking around to the bench more than the pitch. I think that’s something they need to change to take this team on."

Liverpool return to action in the Premier League on Wednesday evening, when they travel to the Bet365 Stadium to take on Stoke City as they look to get back to winning ways.