Manchester United legend Jaap Stam has suggested that Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk can still improve his positioning.
It’s almost six years since Liverpool pounced to agree a huge £75million deal to bring in Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.
The Reds had attempted to sign Van Dijk months earlier and he has certainly proven to be worth the wait.
Van Dijk completely changed Liverpool’s back line and has now racked up more than 200 appearances for the club.
The Dutchman has been one of the Premier League’s very best defenders for a while now – but that doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement.
Jaap Stam comments on Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk
Van Dijk is now 32 and had to battle back from a torn ACL just a few years ago.
Both of those factors mean that Van Dijk may not be quite as quick as he once was, and we have seen some ponderous defending from him at times.
Some will remember Wilfried Zaha racing clear for Crystal Palace last season and Van Dijk being slow to shut him down.
Van Dijk sometimes resists engaging with attackers and that has earned him some criticism over the last 18 months.
Fellow Dutchman and ex-Premier League star Jaap Stam has now had his say on Van Dijk whilst speaking on The Overlap.
Stam explained why Van Dijk receives criticism for his Dutch national team displays, suggesting that the media in the Netherlands believe that he doesn’t offer enough leadership.
Stam doesn’t necessarily agree with that criticism but does think that Van Dijk can still improve his game.
The former Manchester United favourite suggests that Van Dijk should sit a little deeper to make up for losing a little bit of his pace.
Stam thinks that Van Dijk makes things ‘difficult for himself’ in terms of his positioning and wants to see him drop back a little to avoid being caught on the counter.
“They think in communication and coaching, he’s not doing enough,” said Stam. “His leadership on the pitch, that he needs to do more, especially when the team is not playing well, he needs to be the one to tell the players what to do and put them in positions so they can make a difference – they say he’s not doing it.”
“I find that hard to see on the pitch from television. I think he’s trying to but I don’t know if it’s fair to be honest.”
“He’s of a certain age and, if you can talk about improvements, certain things he can improve or do differently, then his positioning. I think at times, he’s making it difficult for himself, that he needs to chase, or that he doesn’t want to chase and is stepping up, trying to put players offside. If his positioning is a little bit better, so he covers a bit more and if he steps a little bit more back, then he can solve a lot of things for himself and for his teammates as well, so you don’t get done on the transition, on the counter,” he added.
The problem here is that Jurgen Klopp has pretty much always pushed a high line at Liverpool.
Dropping Van Dijk deeper means the rest of the defensive line may have to go with him, completely altering Liverpool’s tactical approach.
Van Dijk hasn’t been a major problem for Liverpool this season but maybe Stam’s comments will give him something to think about as he looks to shine well into his 30’s.
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