Defender Mamadou Sakho believes his return to the Liverpool starting line-up could put an end to their defensive woes.
Despite almost winning the league last season, Liverpool have continuously looked shaky at the back, especially from set pieces as was the case again in last weekend’s defeat at home to Chelsea.
Despite spending over £30m on defensive recruits during the summer, manager Brendan Rodgers seems to have yet found his best partnership, with recent arrival Dejan Lovren struggling to find the form he showed so consistently for Southampton last season.
Now, after recovering from a thigh injury, the returning Sakho feels he could be the leader at the back that Liverpool so desperately need.
The 24-year-old, who famously captained his former club PSG at the age of just 17 said: “For me it comes naturally. There are different kinds of leaders, technical leaders, dressing-room leaders, psychological leaders.
“I’d rather keep my personal objectives to myself so people don’t think I’m too pretentious. But I am a very ambitious person.
“I have set personal objectives. The team has set some too and they are quite similar.”
Liverpool will resume their Premier League campaign with a trip to Crystal Palace in which they hope to have Sakho fit and ready to challenge for a first team place.