Arne Slot has revealed that Virgil van Dijk is even better than he believed before he arrived as the new manager in the summer.
One of the criticisms levelled at Arne Slot in his early days at Liverpool is that he simply inherited a world-class squad from Jurgen Klopp and that’s why he is enjoying so much success in his first season as manager of the Reds.
However, a lot isn’t made about how he has taken some of the best players around and given them a platform to improve even more. Ryan Gravenberch is an example but Virgil van Dijk is another.
Since Slot arrived at Liverpool, the club captain has become even more dominant and imperious than before – if that’s possible.
But Slot says he can’t believe how good van Dijk is and that the 33-year-old is even better than he first thought before arriving at the AXA Training Centre in the summer.
Arne Slot waxes lyrical about Virgil van Dijk
Giving an interview to BBC Sport, Arne Slot described how he was surprised at the level that Virgil van Dijk operates at with the Dutchman safeguarding Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge this season.
Slot said: “Everybody here in England would tell you that Virgil van Dijk is the best defender in the world. In Holland, he got a bit more criticism than he gets over here in England.
“I was, in a very positive way, surprised how good he was on the ball and how he could play football through the lines. From the first day I was like: ‘Wow, this is definitely another level that I’m used to’. But people in England were used to this.”
Virgil van Dijk is now making his claim for the Hall of Fame
For the last seven years, Virgil van Dijk has been widely considered to be the best centre-back around. The only blip on his CV occurred around the time he was ruled out with an ACL rupture in 2020.
He’s got it all. Speed, power, passing, aerial dominance, composure – he’s got the lot. Now what he needs is to add is more trophies so that cannot be used against him in any debates over the greatest centre-backs of all time.
Van Dijk has already won every trophy possible for an English club but if he can continue winning silverware (assuming he signs a new deal), there will be little his detractos can say.