As the leader of what is a rapidly changing centre-back department at Liverpool, there's an argument to be made that club captain Virgil van Dijk is more important than ever.<\/p>\n
The skipper turned 35 last month and is now comfortably inside the final year of a two-year contract extension penned in April 2025.<\/p>\n
Usually, such circumstances would suggest that the long goodbye is underway, but Van Dijk remains a totem of this squad, ready to showcase his value to what is now his third manager at Anfield in Andoni Iraola.<\/p>\n
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With Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet – aged 19 and 21, respectively – yet to kick a ball for the club in the Premier League, Joe Gomez once more blighted by injuries and Ronald Araujo set to be confirmed as an emergency loan signing from Barcelona, the presence of Van Dijk is a reassuring one for new head coach Iraola.<\/p>\n
Even in his mid-30s, Van Dijk remains an elite defender, an enormously influential figure behind the scenes and a beacon of surety at a time when uncertainty reins.<\/p>\n
But the last 12 months have been punishing for the two-time Premier League winner.<\/p>\n
No player featured more than Van Dijk across Europe's top five leagues last time out, with the Netherlands star clocking up 5,841 prior to the World Cup, where he featured for every minute of Oranje's run to the last-32 stage.<\/p>\n
His World Cup campaign brought that figure up to 6,141 minutes over 69 appearances for club and country, working out at an average of 89 minutes per game.<\/p>\n
It's a remarkable statistic for a player in the Autumn of his career, not least someone who suffered a debilitating ACL injury in October 2020. Such a workload led to Van Dijk himself requesting more time off than usual this summer.<\/p>\n
"I've had six, seven or eight days [training], so I was very keen to get minutes in my legs and glad I came out of it with no issues," Van Dijk says after his first appearance of the pre-season schedule on Sunday.<\/p>\n
"It has been absolutely fine [working with Iraola], we had a great conversation in the first week when it got announced and the main thing for him to know is that I am here for him regardless.<\/p>\n
"Anything he needs, wants to know, wants me to do for the team or whatever I am here for him and hopefully we will be successful this season and that's what we want.<\/p>\n
"Nothing to take away from Arne and his staff, we had an amazing time together, obviously last year a disappointment. This year we have a new manager who has new ways of preparation.<\/p>\n