Rousing The Kop

Liverpool’s reach as a global giant of football can sometimes be underestimated by those close to the club.

Local supporters of course realise how big their club is, but can sometimes be blind to the mass appeal the Reds have outside of Merseyside and the UK.

The success in Liverpool’s history in terms of wining league titles and European Cups propelled them to the very top of the game.

Success breeds support and the trophy-laden period of the 1970’s and 1980’s left many around the world growing up at the time with allegiances towards Liverpool.

Born in 1965, a young Ange Postecoglou was one of those transfixed by the Reds from the other side of the planet in Australia.

Now a manager of some repute and in charge at Tottenham Hotspur, Postecoglou has already fulfilled what must have been a childhood dream of managing at Anfield in May. And while there, the Australian has admitted that he ‘bumped into’ his boyhood hero.

Ange Postecoglou star struck by Kenny Dalglish

According to some reports, Postecoglou was in the running to be Liverpool manager following Jurgen Klopp’s exit last summer.

However, despite his affiliations to the Reds, the 59-year-old never felt like a serious contender.

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Nevertheless, it certainly would have been a special moment for a boyhood Liverpool fan to be installed as manager.

And Postecoglou once again confirmed those allegiances when asked if he’d ever been ‘starstruck’ by someone during a round of 20 Questions for TNT Sports.

“Yeah, all the time,” answered the Spurs boss. “I bumped into Kenny Dalglish who was my hero growing up when I was at Anfield. Those ones always, yeah.”

No chance for Postecoglou to manage Liverpool

While Postecoglou was doing well at Celtic, he had always felt like someone who might have his eye on the Liverpool job in the future.

However, being older than Klopp, it didn’t quite seem to be on the cards for him.

Instead, Postecoglou joined Tottenham where he has done a decent job so far. But with Spurs in indifferent form this season, the former Celtic boss may not be long for the sack.

If that does happen and his time at Tottenham is ended prematurely, then it’s impossible to see how Postecoglou could come back from that to manage a club like Liverpool.

Liverpool supporters will be crossing their fingers for some action in next January’s transfer market.

The Reds had an incredibly quiet 2024 in terms of new player’s arriving and fans will be keen to see that change in 2025.

Only Federico Chiesa was added to the Liverpool squad during the current calendar year, leaving Arne Slot to work with what he’d been left by Jurgen Klopp.

And while it’s so far so good in that respect, it’s clear that some fresh blood would also be welcome at Anfield.

But despite some slight unrest in certain segments of the fanbase over a lack of business, Liverpool still have a great reputation when it comes to making signings.

That has been newly evidenced in Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero publicly praising the strategy of the Liverpool owners while also criticising his own club’s plans.

Cristian Romero makes Liverpool transfer point

Romero has been a terrific signing for Tottenham. Although his injury record has slightly hampered him, the £42m man is one of the best defenders in the Premier League on his day.

Physical, aggressive and a real leader of men, Romero would not look out of place at Liverpool.

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While that seems unlikely to happen, though, the 26-year-old has perhaps thrown his future at Tottenham into doubt with some frustrated comments after Spurs lost 4-3 to Chelsea on Sunday, in which he interestingly mentions Liverpool.

“The truth is, I would say no comment, but… Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn’t do well, strengthens again, and now they’re seeing results,” he told Telemundo Deportes via TalkSPORT when asked about Spurs’ investment compared to their top six rivals.

“Those are the things to imitate. You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it.

“The last few years, it’s always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it’s always the same people responsible.”

Liverpool could make Cristian Romero play

Although Romero does go on to call Tottenham a ‘beautiful club,’ these do not sound like the comments of a player who is fully happy where he is.

With Liverpool currently in the market for a centre-back, perhaps they should think about a move for the Argentine.

As his contract runs until 2027, there may be a chance to put pressure on Tottenham in next summer’s market.

Some would perhaps argue that Romero is not the profile of defender Liverpool need, especially if Virgil van Dijk stays at the club.

Nevertheless, the World Cup winner is clearly a top player who’s head could seemingly be turned if push came to shove. One to think about, maybe.

Liverpool managed just the two signings this summer in Giorgi Mamardashvili and Federico Chiesa, yet the Reds came close to other deals.

Martin Zubimendi was famously on Liverpool’s radar before the Spanish international opted to reject a move to Anfield to stay with Real Sociedad, where the Basque side have since started the new La Liga season in poor form.

Another player Liverpool were reportedly interested in was FC Midtjylland star Dario Osorio, with the Reds even having a bid rejected by the Danish side in their bid to entice the Chilean international to Anfield.

And Liverpool could now face some competition from Tottenham for Osorio in 2025.

Tottenham to rival Tottenham for Dario Osorio in 2025

According to GiveMeSport, Tottenham scouts have been left impressed by Osorio with the winger currently considered one of the most exciting talents in the Danish Superliga since making the move last year.

Lauded as ‘extraordinary’ by Kevin Mbabu as per Emol, Osorio is already viewed as a future star for the Chile national team having broken through into the senior set-up as a teenager, with the 20-year-old already on 13 caps for the South American nation.

And heading into 2025, there’s a real chance that Osorio could head to the Premier League, with Liverpool having a bid rejected by Midtjylland for the youngster with Tottenham, Brentford and Crystal Palace now in the mix.

And given how unlikely it is that Osorio will become a guaranteed starter at Liverpool next year, moving to a lesser club in the division could be appealing for the Chile international, something that could ruin the Reds’ hopes of landing the attacking prospect.

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Liverpool could realistically lose out on Osorio next year

Liverpool are in a state of transition this year under Arne Slot, with the Dutch coach starting his tenure at Anfield in fantastic form with nine wins in ten games with a squad that is still largely Jurgen Klopp’s.

Yet with Osorio a target, there’s a real chance that Liverpool could miss out on the Chile international given how unlikely it is that the winger will be ready enough next summer to start for the Reds and to compete with the likes of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota.

And with other Premier League clubs interested, Osorio could be more tempted to move to a side where first-team opportunities are more likely, something that could result in Liverpool missing out on the winger.

Liverpool players have joined up with their national teams for the second time this season.

The Reds have 16 current first-team stars away all over the world over the next 10 days or so.

The only nation to feature more than one member of the Liverpool squad – not including loan players – is the Netherlands, who boast three.

Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch have been two of Liverpool’s best performers under countryman Arne Slot so far, while Cody Gakpo has had his moments, too.

Van Dijk was ‘outstanding’ last time out against Crystal Palace, scooping a deserved man of the match award.

And as the 33-year-old prepares to lead his nation out yet again, Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven has spoken out on the prospect of partnering the Liverpool captain.

Micky van de Ven excited by Virgil van Dijk partnership.

In a parallel universe Van de Ven is already partnering Van Dijk at club level as well as with his country.

Liverpool were heavily linked with Van de Ven before he made the move to Tottenham in the summer of 2023.

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There were even claims that Van de Ven was a Liverpool supporter after images surfaced from an old trip to Anfield with his father.

In the end, though, the 23-year-old joined Tottenham, where he has done well so far.

His good performances in the Premier League have also led to Van de Ven accumulating eight caps for the Netherlands under Ronald Koeman.

And with the Oranje in action against Hungary and Germany between now and Monday, the centre-back has been looking ahead to the games for ESPN Netherlands.

Asked about the prospect of partnering Van Dijk once again, Van de Ven admitted that he was looking forward to it.

“He’s a fantastic defender, so I wouldn’t mind playing alongside him,” said the Spurs man.

Micky van de Ven not needed at Liverpool

While some supporters will have been disappointed by Liverpool’s failure to sign Van de Ven in 2023, we’re not sure that there is justification for that.

The young centre-back is clearly a talent and showed his quality with an incredible assist for Brennan Johnson against Manchester United in September.

But while he would have been good next to Van Dijk for Liverpool, he is not a better defender than Ibrahima Konate.

Konate has come into his own this season and is once again looking like one of the best centre-backs in the whole of Europe.

While Van de Ven is a good player, we simply don’t think he’s on that level. Obviously, he’s looking forward to playing alongside Van Dijk, but it isn’t something he should get used to.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is set to lead his country into a first European Championship semi-final in 20 years.

The Netherlands have undoubtedly benefitted from some relatively kind draws in Germany, but they’ve made it through to the last four.

Up against an England side who have been disappointing so far, Van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch will believe they have a strong chance of making the final.

The three Liverpool players have had differing tournaments so far. While Gakpo has been excellent at Euro 2024, Gravenberch is yet to play a single minute.

As for Van Dijk, he remains the main man at the back. Van Dijk has been criticised in the Dutch media for some below par offerings, but the 33-year-old is still the key reference point for anyone facing the Netherlands.

Harry Kane makes Virgil van Dijk point

It remains a touch surprising that this summer’s competition represents Van Dijk’s first ever Euros.

The Liverpool No.4 was in line to lead his country out at Euro 2020, but hadn’t recovered in time from a Jordan Pickford induced ACL injury.

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Perhaps it’s fitting then that Pickford and his teammates are the one’s who will be standing in the way for Van Dijk leading the Dutch to a first major tournament final in 14 years.

More directly, Virgil will be up against another player who has given him plenty of trouble at Anfield over the years: Harry Kane. Just as Van Dijk is captaining the Netherlands, Kane will be wearing the armband for England.

The two players have had some epic battles over the years, not least in the Champions League final of 2019, when Liverpool beat Tottenham.

And speaking ahead of Wednesday’s match, Kane told his pre-game press conference that he’s expecting another ‘tough’ battle from Van Dijk.

“Yeah, in terms of Virgil, we have had some really good battles over the years from when he was at Southampton, at Liverpool, a lot of tough games, a lot of big games,” says the Bayern Munich striker.

“Sometimes he has won that battle, sometimes I have won that battle. Tomorrow night will be a tough game. Whoever plays (Matthijs de Ligt or Virgil van Dijk) will be tough opponents,” Kane adds.

“Yeah, I would always prepare in the same way, trying to make their lives as comfortable as possible. I am sure he will try to do the same to me. I enjoy playing against the best players in the world, that’s what we play football for, that’s why we play these games, and I am looking forward to that challenge tomorrow.”

Virgil van Dijk must rise to Harry Kane challenge

With Kane now plying his trade over in Germany, we can’t say that we’ve missed him all that much at Liverpool.

Although Kane has raved about the Anfield atmosphere in the past, the 31-year-old has never found it a trouble to score against the Reds.

As he suggests, that often has not translated into winning the battle against Liverpool, or against Van Dijk more directly.

But it’s fair to say that Kane has often found his way to the net, even with Van Dijk in the defence.

For Liverpool fans of a neutral persuasion, they may be conflicted as to who to support on Wednesday. On the one hand, it would be great to see Van Dijk in the final and potentially lifting the trophy.

Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool having served up some truly wonderful football over the years. For younger Reds supporters, Klopp and his team will have