View: 96% Virgil van Dijk offers insight into defending ahead of final year of Liverpool contract
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has provided insight into his defensive approach as he enters the final year of his contract at Anfield.
In an interview with former Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster (Amazon Prime Sport, 24 July), van Dijk revealed how he has approached defending throughout his career.
The 33-year-old has entered the final year of his Liverpool contract and talks have yet to begin on a contract extension.
Liverpool need to offer Van Dijk new Anfield deal
Van Dijk has established himself as one of, if not the, best defenders in world football since his move to Liverpool from Southampton in 2018.
He led by example following his appointment as club captain after Jordan Henderson left for Al-Ettifaq and scored the winning goal in the Carabao Cup final to ensure Jurgen Klopp didn’t leave Anfield empty-handed.
His ability as a centre-back has been scrutinised in recent seasons, with the defender considered past his best since the cruciate ligament injury suffered against Everton ended his 2020/21 season.
But van Dijk looked back to his best form last season, particularly when faced one-on-one with Erling Haaland in the 1-1 draw against Manchester City in March, in which the Norweigan failed to get the better of him.
The Reds captain spoke on how he approaches one-on-one situations.
He said: “You have to try to limit the power, you have to try to limit the accuracy with your body position, with strength and delaying that moment as well. I think if you step in too quickly, you give the opportunity to make a decision, and that’s not something I really stand for. It’s basically trusting your own defensive qualities.”
Van Dijk was dribbled past only twice in the league last season, the lowest amongst all Premier League defenders (liverpoolfc.com, 30 May).
He was pivotal in the Reds’ defence last season completing 14 tackles against opposition dribbles and was in the top 89 percentile for interceptions and the 88 percentile for ball recoveries in the league (Fotmob).
The Dutch defender was a defensive colossus last season and recorded the highest aerial duel success percentage since Opta began collecting data in 2012 with 81.4 per cent (liverpoolfc.com, 30 May).
But in the modern game, it is not just a defender’s job to defend his goal, they have also become an integral position in how sides move the ball around the pitch.
Van Dijk was in the top 96 percentile for successful passes with 91.5 per cent pass accuracy and the top 95 percentile for accurate long balls in the Premier League (Fotmob).
His ability to find an open teammate anywhere on the pitch has been important for Liverpool and Klopp’s build-up play over the years and will no doubt carry on to the Arne Slot era at Anfield.
It has become a part of his everyday duties but it did not always come easy for the defender.
He said: “Obviously in Holland, for example, we have definitely been growing up and doing a lot of possession games and passing exercises and stuff. Actually, building up wasn’t really a strength of mine, if I’m absolutely honest. But I obviously grew into that.
“It was always a bit a struggle. But at Celtic we had 70 per cent of the ball during the game, and there’s different demands and different things that will happen. At Southampton, working with (Ronald) Koeman was a big, big step for me and learning a lot. I grew into that. And obviously at Liverpool it speaks for itself.”
Van Dijk averaged 5.59 progressive passes per match in the top 90 percentile and accumulated the highest amount of progressive passing yards amongst his Premier League peers (FBref).
Liverpool will need to have a succession plan for their captain who will be 34 years old at the end of the season, but they should not allow him to leave for free.
As he enters the twilight years of his career, he is still putting up numbers that compete with the league’s best defenders, seven/eight/nine years their senior.
With Jarell Quansah emerging into the first team fold, he can develop into a top-level centre-back for Liverpool under van Dijk’s tutelage.
No price can be put on experience and even if his influence in the Liverpool side begins to dwindle in the next few years, what he can offer to the next generation of defenders at Anfield is well worth the money.
In other Liverpool news, Bobby Clark and Jayden Danns miss opportunity with final pre-season squad.
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