"It was maybe too soon" - Virgil van Dijk not happy with timing of Liverpool star's recent comments

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has expressed his unhappiness with teammate Jarell Quansah's recent comments. The 20-year-old suggested that he was keen to replace Joel Matip after the Cameroonian suffered a season-ending injury in early December.

Reflecting on those comments, Van Dijk said (via Tribal Football):

"I think it came across a little bit not in the right way. It's good that he thinks like this in my opinion. But it was maybe too soon [after Matip's injury] for him to say it in the way it came across. I don't think he meant it in that way.

"When I was 20 I'd also maybe say certain things that come across differently. I totally understand where he's coming from. But we shouldn't forget what Joel has done for this club and the contribution to the success we've had."

This comes after Quansah expressed his interest to replace Matip in the starting line-up after injury. He had said on LFCTV after Liverpool's 2-1 defeat against Union Saint-Gilloise in the UEFA Champions League:

"...obviously, it's a shame what happened to Joel (Matip) and my condolences go to him. But my idea was to try and get over him anyway and try and be a starting centre-back in the Premier League."

The 20-year-old has stepped in well this season for Liverpool with injuries to Matip and Ibrahima Konate. He has made 15 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal and setting up two more.

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Jurgen Klopp confident Liverpool can keep up form in star's upcoming absence

Klopp feels the Reds have enough options.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insisted that the Reds have a plan in Mohamed Salah's absence. The Egyptian winger could miss close to a month of action due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

Klopp said (via press conference):

"Each long-term plan I could have had depends massively on who is available. So why should I think in October who I can use when Mo is away, when I have no clue who is available?

"We have solutions today and I hope we have that after Newcastle as well. It is not the first time, it is a really very average situation that you lose your goal scorer. But we had it even worse in the past when both Sadio [Mane] and Mo left. We always came through it. Traditionally at least one of them went far in the tournament at least, which makes it even worse."

The tournament is set to kick off on January 13, with Egypt's first game against Mozambique on January 14. Should they make it all the way, the attacker could be out of action until February 12.

Liverpool are in no shortage of attackers, with the likes of Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, and Luis Diaz among many in the ranks. However, Salah has been in brilliant form this season, bagging 16 goals and eight assists in 26 appearances.