The former Celtic centre-back is doing big things at Liverpool right now.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has suggested that former Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk can get even better.
The Netherlands international has arguably been the Premier League’s best defender since joining Liverpool in a £75 million deal from Southampton in January.
The 27-year-old came to prominence at Parkhead following a two-year spell at Celtic, before sealing a move to England’s top flight.
This season, Van Dijk has been a rock in a Reds defence that has conceded only five Premier League goals all season long, with Jurgen Klopp’s side second in the table.
But the towering centre-back isn’t without his faults and Carragher revealed to The Telegraph that Ronny Deila, Van Dijk’s former manager at Celtic, once told him that the Dutchman can be a bit too cavalier at times.
“When I spoke to former Celtic manager, Ronny Deila, who was in charge when Van Dijk moved to Southampton, he suggested the younger Van Dijk lacked intensity in his game and in training,” he told The Telegraph.
“Even Koeman has recently suggested Van Dijk is sometimes ‘a little bit too laid back’. The responsibility and adulation at Anfield has maximised concentration levels, but there are times when the game looks too easy for him.
“You never see Van Dijk at full stretch. It makes you wonder if he has a few more gears in him.”
The former Groningen star has only managed the one goal for Liverpool – a debut strike against Everton, who Klopp’s side face on Sunday – and Carragher has also suggested that he should improve in this regard.
“What could I criticise him for? Given his superiority in the air, he could have more goals than his solitary strike on debut against Sunday’s opponents. The move to Anfield has unlocked elements of his game which were less obvious at Southampton and Celtic.”
Van Dijk scored 13 goals in two seasons at Celtic.
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