Virgil van Dijk reveals he is striving to get back to his very best for Liverpool
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League as quoted by Liverpool Echo, Reds centre-back Virgil van Dijk has revealed that he strives to return to top form and wants to maintain it.
It was a rather frank admission from the Dutch central defender who feels he can still get better than what he is showing right now. It is quite evident that Van Dijk has not yet hit the levels he reached before his injury.
Van Dijk is still Liverpool’s best defender but we know that at his best, he can be absolutely sensational and be a rock at the back. He is almost impossible to get past in defence and adds a lot to the Reds.
The 31-year-old centre-back has still been having a rather impressive season personally and has been the only mainstay in defence for Jurgen Klopp with his centre-back partners constantly changing due to injuries.
Van Dijk has played 16 times for the Reds across all competitions scoring one goal until now. Clean sheets have been a rarity to come by this season though and that is more to do with the defensive frailties of Liverpool than the Dutchman himself.
Still, the 31-year-old still feels he can improve and it is always great to see a player as accomplished as Van Dijk still wanting to get better.
“I do everything possible to [get back to top level], this level I reach should not go down. I just try to keep consistency. That is the most important thing. Find that consistency and then enjoy it.”
It is impossible to ignore the importance of Van Dijk to Liverpool. He has probably even leapfrogged Salah to claim the spot as the Reds’ most important player and in his absence, the defence will look even worse.
He may be 31 but Van Dijk is nowhere near done. He is still showing the same hunger, fight and determination and considering that centre-backs generally tend to peak late, he could still have his best years ahead of him.
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Let’s hope the team can step up, especially the centre-backs and help Van Dijk as they look to resurrect Liverpool from the slide and motivate them to come back up this season.
