Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted that he “understands” fans’ concerns over the club’s quiet summer in the transfer market.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister arrived to reinforce Jurgen Klopp’s midfield early in the window but no further signings have been made, amid the unexpected departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.
Southampton youngster Romeo Lavia is Liverpool’s top target but three bids have been rejected as the Championship club lay out a reported ultimatum over their £50million price tag.
Reds defender Van Dijk said: “I can definitely understand [the concern] in some ways but I'm not a very negative person.
“But obviously, when a lot of players are leaving, when your captain is leaving, your vice-captain is leaving, and at the moment, there are only two incomings.
“And the way we have been playing, in possession really good but defensively when you concede goals it's not as good, I can understand some people having doubts.”
Liverpool have, as Van Dijk noted, been prosperous in front of goal during pre-season but often sloppy at the back - possessing an 18-11 aggregate score over their five friendlies.
Their campaign begins on Sunday with a trip to Chelsea and the Dutchman wants fans to be “confident” in their team.
He added: “Let's see if more players are coming in and then we have to be ready again for a long season. It will be very tough if we look at the teams around us, but we want to be up there again, we want to be challenging again.
“We have to be confident, we should be confident, and we should still be learning each and every day.
“There have been characters leaving, players who have played a big part in the success, but others have to step up. That's a nice challenge in my opinion. We should be excited.”
