Dietmar Hamann believes Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham are in with a shot of beating Liverpool and Manchester City to the Premier League title this season.
The Reds have the tough job of retaining their crown without talisman Virgil van Dijk, who is set to miss the majority of the season with a serious knee ligament injury.
Jurgen Klopp’s side suffered yet another injury blow in their 2-0 win over Midtjylland on Tuesday night as stand-in centre-back Fabinho was forced off the pitch in the first half with a hamstring problem.
Van Dijk has completely turned around the fortunes of the Merseyside club since arriving at Anfield in 2018, helping fire them to Champions League and Premier League glory.
And former Liverpool midfielder Hamann admitted that the Dutch defender’s absence will have a big impact on who wins the league title at the end of the season.
‘It will have a huge effect on the title race,’ Hamann told talkSPORT. ‘When you lose Van Dijk, he is the best centre-back in the world at the moment.
‘What the guy has done since he came to the club – he galvanised them and changed them from one of the most vulnerable defensively to one of the best.
‘It also affects your team going forward, because if Van Dijk is not in the team they’re probably a bit more cautious. He’s clearly a big loss.’
Manchester City have also endured a stuttering start to their domestic campaign, winning just two of their opening five league games.
After claiming back-to-back league titles in 2018 and 2019, Hamann feels Pep Guardiola’s side have already reached their peak.
‘City haven’t got any strikers at the moment, I think they’ve peaked under [Pep] Guardiola,’ the German added. ‘I don’t see them winning the Premier League or the Champions League in the next few years.
‘I think a manager like Guardiola can’t be at a club for more than four or five years. He’s done that at Man City and if you see the players they bring in, there is no continuity and I don’t see them improving enough with the money they’ve spent.’
Their 1-0 win over Burnley on Monday night has taken them to within two points of table-topping Everton – and Hamann thinks three-time Premier League-winning boss Mourinho could have one last title in him.
‘The team I really like at the moment is Spurs,’ Hamann continued.
‘I watched them on Monday [in the 1-0 win at Burnley] and they are a very organised team.
‘If they are in the mix come March, April, I think Mourinho may have one last hurrah in him.’
