Heirs to King Virgil van Dijk’s throne! Do Liverpool already have succession plan in place? Ex-Reds defender discusses Anfield Princes Jeremy Jacquet & Giovanni Leoni

Questions have been asked for some time now of what happens when Van Dijk, after nine-and-a-half memorable years, walks away from Merseyside. The commanding Dutch centre-half will leave a sizable void in Liverpool’s team.

He has been a colossus for the Reds, winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League and finishing as runner-up in the prestigious Ballon d’Or poll. The classy 35-year-old should pass 400 appearances for his current employers before bidding an emotional farewell.

Van Dijk still has an important role this season, as he marshals a somewhat leaky back line, with full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez needing to raise their respective games, while loan star Ronald Araujo competes for regular minutes.

Promising French centre-half Jacquet has slotted seamlessly into the fold after completing his £55 million ($74m) transfer from Rennes, while 19-year-old Italian Leoni earned plenty of plaudits in his homeland before suffering an unfortunate ACL injury when making his Liverpool debut in a Carabao Cup clash with Southampton. He has been out for nearly a year.

Jacquet and Leoni could be the men to help fill Van Dijk’s boots at Anfield. Asked if that will be the case, with long-term plans having already been drawn up, ex-Reds defender Warnock - who was speaking in association with Gambler Media - told GOAL: “Possibly. I think the hard thing is trying to replace, obviously, a player of Van Dijk's stature.

“And the signs were promising, both from Leoni, even after one game, but the talk around Serie A and how he performed in Italy. But there will always become a pressure once you get to a certain level.

“There will be more talk, talking about Van Dijk and can they be the heir to the throne, of taking over Van Dijk? And it's just about how they progress from now until probably around about 26, 27, when you learn so much about the game and you get better at understanding.

“And that's essentially what you have to do when you're a centre-half. You've got to read the game better, you've got to get yourself in better positions, and that's part of the process. So it's very difficult to say whether they're going to be the successors because they're on the right trajectory. But there's so many things that can come into place, like injuries and lack of form, the shirt being too heavy at times, where the club's actually at.

“When you think about when Virgil van Dijk came into the Liverpool team, it was almost him and Alisson that were the final two pieces of the jigsaw. And it slotted him perfectly into a great system, a great team. At the moment, Liverpool are in a transitional phase and that's difficult to play in at times.”

Jacquet, despite looking smooth in his movement and comfortable in possession, is still waiting on his first competitive clean sheet as a Liverpool player. The Reds have been held to 2-2 draws by Newcastle and Nottingham Forest in their opening fixtures of 2026-27.

Andoni Iraola’s side will be back in Premier League action on Friday, as they chase down a first victory of the campaign, when taking in a trip to Portman Road and a meeting with newly-promoted Ipswich.