Liverpool have found it challenging to find a replacement for the vibrant Sadio Mane but Virgil van Dijk believes Arne Slot may have hit the mark with Luis Diaz.
Diaz put on a dazzling performance against Bayer Leverkusen after Slot shifted him to the No 9 position, where he scored his first Liverpool hat-trick.
The Colombian star is currently tied with Mohamed Salah as Liverpool's top scorer with nine goals, and has assisted two more, prompting Van Dijk to see similarities with Mane in his dynamic performance.
Mane, who netted 120 goals in 269 matches over six years at Anfield before moving to Bayern Munich in 2022, was also known for his versatility in attack, a trait that Diaz appears to be demonstrating with equal potency.
"Yeah, I think we've seen that over the last couple of years with Sadio playing as a No 9 and drifting in different positions, so I think the players can do damage everywhere," commented the Liverpool captain.
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"Obviously for him, I'm very pleased for him to get this first Champions League hat-trick of his career."
"His first goal was quality all over. It was an amazing ball from Curtis [Jones] and a fantastic finish. I think he's an amazing player, like the rest of the guys."
Slot demonstrated his tactical brilliance once again by shifting Diaz in from the left to give Darwin Nunez a rest, a move that also allowed him to field the in-form Gakpo against Leverkusen, who netted his fourth goal in three matches.
Van Dijk asserts that the players are prepared to deliver regardless of their assigned positions.
"I think we have quality players, first and foremost," he declared. "Obviously the manager makes the decision who's going to play and everyone has to be ready to make an impact in a positive way."
"That's what the manager expects from us and that's what we as players expect from ourselves as well."
Despite Liverpool's impressive run of four wins in the Champions League and leading the Premier League, Van Dijk insists that no predictions are being made within Anfield about potential trophies.
His focus, he says, is solely on further improvement and securing a win against Aston Villa at Anfield in their upcoming Saturday night match.
"Based on the results, we're doing very well," the centre-half acknowledged. "But we're definitely going to let others do the talking. I think there's no point in me making statements because I know how it works in this world.
"We're happy, but we want to be happy at the end of the season."
