Virgil van Dijk: No one can replicate Mohamed Salah but players have to step up

Liverpool’s revamped forward line has done well enough to ensure Mohamed Salah’s name has never been mentioned at Anfield this season but captain Virgil van Dijk knows the next generation still have work to do.

Sunday’s 2-0 win over Brighton was the first game in which Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz – £364million of talent acquired over the last two summers – and Cody Gakpo looked like they clicked together.

And they still had exciting 18-year-old England winger Rio Ngumoha, their gamechanger in their previous two matches, to bring off the bench.

Isak found the net for the sixth time in his last six league matches with an assist from Barcola after a deflected Wirtz’s shot had broken the deadlock, while there were several passages of play in which they appeared to be getting to grips with the new dynamic.

Salah departed in the summer, having cut his contract short by a year, after a disappointing campaign and although he left behind a wealth of goalscoring records – and has scored 10 in 10 for new club Trabzonspor – there is a general acceptance that everyone has moved on and no one is pining for the 34-year-old.

“I think it is the reality. What Mo has done for so many years as a winger, I don’t think anyone can replicate that,” said Van Dijk.

“Hopefully it is going to happen but what he did was incredible. The same goes with Sadio (Mane) and Bobby (Roberto Firmino).

“Hopefully that is going to happen again and that is what we work for but now it is time for others and others have to step up.

“We can always think it was better back in the day but that is not the mentality that it should be at a club like Liverpool and I don’t feel it has ever been.

“The club will always move on at a certain point and there are always players who will shine and perform for the club.

“It is down to these players who are here now to show it every three or four days.

“The second goal was class but there are plenty of moments already this season that they have been very good.

“At a club like Liverpool you have to do it every three or four days. That is always the challenge, but it is a nice challenge. I’m pretty confident that it is going to be fine.”

Victory moved Liverpool, whose only defeat has come at home to Manchester City, into the Premier League’s top four with a fourth clean sheet of the season.

A restructured defence has seen on-loan Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo become an instant hit on the right, while £60m arrival from Rennes, Jeremy Jacquet, aged just 21, is looking an astute signing.

“He (Jacquet) is doing very well,” added Van Dijk.

“He just has to keep going and let’s see where the ceiling will be. I don’t think it is there yet, so keep going.”