Van Dijk has transformed the Reds defence
Virgil van Dijk has only been at Anfield for less than a year, but he is well on the way to earning special status at Liverpool. Especially if he can be part of a side that finally wins a first league title since 1990 or collects a sixth European Cup. Eyebrows were raised when Jurgen Klopp forked out £75m – a world-record fee for a defender – but van Dijk quickly showed it was money well spent. Talk of Liverpool’s dodgy defending has been put to bed, with the Dutchman offering a formidable barrier to opponents and a reassuring presence to his team-mates. One player who recognises this more than most is Georginio Wijnaldum, who plays in front of Van Dijk for both club and country. “Virgil has had a big impact on the mentality of the team,” says Wijnaldum. “Everything has fitted together nicely. “He is the leader in the last line and we are also defending better now from the front. “Virgil is like the leader because he speaks a lot and he puts people in the right spaces. It’s always good to have a player like that in the team. “The winning rate has gone up since he came, so he has had a big influence. But in this team, it is everyone together. “Last season we conceded a lot of goals in games. People are not speaking about that anymore, which is good.” Amazingly, it took a while for the defender to be accepted in Holland, having not come through at one of the country’s biggest clubs, Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV Eindhoven. But van Dijk’s performances last season in the Champions League as Liverpool made it all the way to the Final marked the 27-year-old out as one of the finest defenders in Europe. To underline his qualities he has been made captain of Holland by his old boss at Southampton, Ronald Koeman. Those attributes will certainly be needed on Wednesday as the Reds take on Napoli in the intimidating San Paolo stadium. Wijnaldum continued: “Virgil was quite late in his development. From Groningen, normally players then go to one of the top three sides in Holland, but he went to Celtic. “He did well there then moved to Southampton. Ronald Koeman helped him adapt even better there to the Premier League, but he has adapted so well everywhere he has been. “Virgil is the complete defender. He is quite quick, a good football player and he is very good at corner kicks. “Everyone has their opinion about it but, for me, he is one of the best in Europe.”