Stephen Warnock told Sky Sports News (16/08/21 at 10:50 am) that he has ‘concern’ for Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk when he comes up against a Jamie Vardy this season.
It’s not a case of quality that concerns the former Liverpool defender, but his lack of fitness and sharpness.
Well, Liverpool will lock horns with the Foxes in December and Liverpool will be hoping Van Dijk’s engine is motoring by then.
But Warnock shared what he noticed about Van Dijk on Saturday and how there seems to be a sense of reluctance to his game.
“Van Dijk’s hasn’t really suffered big injuries in his career,” said Warnock. “He has always been physically very good.
“But this was a freak injury. This was an impact injury. In his head, you can see the certain challenges where he sort of steps off and he doesn’t want to go into it.
“His speed in the game, the average was the lowest of both teams. So, he never really got out of first gear or accelerated. He didn’t have to push himself.
“But my concern is when he comes up against a Jamie Vardy or a Rashford. Someone who is really quick and they are going to say, ‘I am going to really push you and see how fit you really are’.”
Judging by the weekend game, it didn’t look like Van Dijk has been away at all, so that’s a positive sign.
But it will be interesting to see how Jurgen Klopp manages his key man and whether he plays back-to-back 90 minutes this weekend.
Whilst Burnley beat Liverpool last season, the first proper test for Van Dijk will come in the form of Romelu Lukaku when Chelsea visit Anfield at the end of August.
Before they play both Manchester clubs in October in between a September period that, on paper, shouldn’t be a problem for them.
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