‘Why not?’ – Boudewijn Zenden names ‘influential’ player he sees as Liverpool’s next captain | OneFootball

Boudewijn Zenden has named the ‘influential’ player who he can envisage as the next Liverpool captain after Virgil van Dijk.

In the likely event that our number 4 moves on at the end of his current contract next summer (just before his 36th birthday), the first-team armband at Anfield will be up for grabs, with a new vice-captain needing to be appointed in the coming weeks after Andy Robertson departs.

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The present skipper has already called upon his younger teammates to ‘step up’ and assume greater responsibility within the dressing room at a time when several stalwarts are leaving, and his fellow countryman believes there’s an ideal candidate for the captaincy already in place.

Zenden backs Szoboszlai to be next Liverpool captain

Zenden has backed Dominik Szoboszlai to succeed Van Dijk as Liverpool captain, saying (via Liverpool Echo): “I can see Dominik Szoboszlai as a future Liverpool captain. At the moment, if you look at the dressing room, there are already two or three captains. I don’t know if Szoboszlai is already one of them, but it’s most likely that when a change comes, someone will step up and be the next.

“He’s a player who dominates in the middle, he’s influential, and he always works really hard for the team. He scores his goals and is a very, very important player for the team. You can be a captain if you lead by example. Why not?”

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Szoboszlai would seem an ideal candidate for Liverpool captaincy

If the next Liverpool captain is to come from players in the current squad, then we’d agree with Zenden that Szoboszlai seems to be a solid shout.

The Hungarian midfielder has already skippered his national team for several years, and at 25 he’s at an age where he should (hopefully) be at Anfield for the long-term.

He’s also been perhaps our best performer in what has collectively been a dreadful campaign for the Reds, and he’s gone on record to state his intentions to take on added responsibility for his team.

With Salah and Robertson leaving at the end of this month, Alisson Becker potentially following suit in the summer and Van Dijk likely to move on next year, Liverpool are very much in need of younger players to step up and assume a leadership role on the pitch and in the dressing room.

As Zenden stated, Szoboszlai has shown in the past few months that he leads by example with his performances, and we’d be more than happy for our number 8 to succeed the Dutch centre-back as the Reds’ next permanent captain.