Opta Analyst's David Segar looks at how important Virgil van Dijk has been for Liverpool following the announcement of the defender signing a new contract.
The threat of arguably Liverpool’s three most important players departing at the expiration of their contracts in June has hovered over Anfield all season.
Though clearly not enough of a distraction to stop a likely march to the title, it has still caused some panic among Reds fans.
As they did with their roles in the win over West Ham United, Mohamed Salah and Van Dijk have eased fan nerves by signing new contracts.
Even if Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t follow suit, Liverpool’s captain and their talisman will both be lining up in the famous red kit again next season.
Van Dijk had a transformational impact after signing from Southampton for a reported £75 million in January 2018.
The big Dutchman started as he meant to go on by scoring the winner on his debut against rivals Everton in the FA Cup third round in front of the Kop. Over seven years and three months later, and he has played 314 matches for Liverpool, scoring 27 goals and adding 11 assists.
It’s obviously his bread and butter duties as a defender where he’s really stood out, though.
Following the 2009/10 campaign and the departure of Rafael Benitez as manager, Liverpool went seven seasons in a row where they conceded at least 40 goals in the Premier League, including shipping 50 in the 2013/14 and 2015/16 campaigns.
In the 2017/18 season, which saw Van Dijk arrive halfway through, they let in 38, before only conceding 22 in 2018/19 and 33 in 2019/20 when they lifted the title.
That went up to 42 in 2020/21 when Van Dijk only played five league matches due to a serious ACL injury, before going back down to just 26 the following season after he returned.
A generally poor 2022/23 campaign for Liverpool saw them concede 47 league goals, though 13 of those – more than a quarter – came in the six matches Van Dijk didn’t play.
Liverpool conceded 41 goals in Jurgen Klopp’s final season in charge in 2023/24, and they’ve allowed 31 after 32 matches this season under Arne Slot.
Only Arsenal (27) have conceded fewer goals, with every other Premier League team allowing at least 38.
Liverpool goals conceded since 2015/16
| Season | Goals Conceded | PL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2015/16 | 50 | =8th |
| 2016/17 | 42 | 5th |
| 2017/18* | 38 | =4th |
| 2018/19 | 22 | 1st |
| 2019/20 | 33 | 1st |
| 2020/21** | 42 | 4th |
| 2021/22 | 26 | =1st |
| 2022/23 | 47 | =7th |
| 2023/24 | 41 | 3rd |
| 2024/25*** | 31 | 2nd |
*Van Dijk signs Jan 2018
** Van Dijk injured Oct 2020
*** Six matches remaining
That demonstrates the importance Van Dijk has represented since joining Liverpool, but that’s also reflected in the broad success and silverware he’s helped bring to Anfield.
He is on the verge of winning his second Premier League title, to go with a UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, two EFL Cups, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
In 2019, had it not been for eventual winner Lionel Messi recording an incredible 51 goals and 19 assists from 50 matches in the 2018/19 season, Van Dijk would have become the first defender to win the Ballon d’Or since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006.
Van Dijk had to settle for second place, though some felt his performances that year should still have seen him pip Messi.
Van Dijk was able to console himself with the 2019 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, and he remains the only defender to have won that prize since its inception in 2010/11.
As touched on before, the difference in Liverpool’s statistical output when Van Dijk is on the pitch compared to when he’s not is stark.
Since he signed in 2018, their win percentage in the Premier League with him is just shy of 70 per cent, which drops to 53.2 per cent without him. Their points-per-match average is 2.30 with and 1.86 without.
How Liverpool fare with/without Van Dijk since Jan 2018
| With Van Dijk | Since January 2018 | Without Van Dijk |
|---|---|---|
| 229 | Matches | 47 |
| 160 | Wins | 25 |
| 46 | Draws | 12 |
| 23 | Losses | 10 |
| 69.9 | Win % | 53.2 |
| 0.9 | Avg. Goals Conceded | 1.0 |
Unsurprisingly, then, he’s played his part in a significant number of wins for the Reds over the years.
Since Van Dijk signed for Liverpool, only team-mates Salah (174) and Andy Robertson (162), plus Manchester City duo Ederson (182) and Bernardo Silva (171) have more Premier League victories to their name than his 160, and all four have played at least 10 more matches than Van Dijk in that time.
While players like Salah might ordinarily attract more of the plaudits and headlines, there is also no doubt about the scale of Van Dijk’s contributions from further down the field.
For instance, one thing many would associate with the Dutchman is his domination when the ball is there to be won.
Van Dijk has the best duel success rate of any outfield player (minimum 100 duels contested) in the Premier League since his arrival on Merseyside, having won an impressive 73 per cent (1,227 of 1,682 duels).
He’s been even more effective when taking to the skies, with Van Dijk’s success rate in aerial duels increasing to 75.3 per cent (921 of 1,223), which is also the most of any outfield player in the competition since his Liverpool debut.
Van Dijk’s imperious presence and stature on the pitch have aided to the hulking centre-back becoming deified at Anfield. Liverpool fans regularly serenade him with his own song, to the tune of Dirty Old Town by The Pogues:
He’s our centre-half, he’s our number four
Watch him defend, and we watch him score
He’ll pass the ball, calm as you like
He’s Virgil van Dijk, he’s Virgil van Dijk…
It’s not just a catchy song, but also apropos of the player’s well-roundedness. Van Dijk has been one of the best defenders in the world for much of the last seven years, but he’s more than just easing attackers away from the ball and dominating with headed clearances.
He can indeed pass the ball "calm as you like", which is just as well as he has attempted more than any other player in the Premier League this season (2,493), with an accuracy of 91.7 per cent.
They’re not all backwards or sideways, either. Van Dijk has attempted 825 forward passes (80.2 per cent success rate), while only four players have made more than his 73 passes bypassing at least six opposition players.
His forward passes are often into dangerous areas too, having made 248 successful passes into the attacking third of the pitch, at least 32 more than anyone else in the Premier League.
Similarly, only Fulham’s Joachim Andersen (176) has recorded more successful long balls – passes with a length of at least 32 metres – than Van Dijk’s 129 among outfield players.
Many of those will have been his familiar diagonal passes out to Salah. He made three more in Sunday’s win over West Ham, each giving the Egyptian a chance to run at Hammers youngster Ollie Scarles.
Van Dijk only passed to Kostas Tsimikas (20), Ibrahima Konate (seven) and Ryan Gravenberch (four) at least as many times as he did to Salah.
As Sunday also showed, Van Dijk offers a threat in the opposition’s box, too. His header against West Ham was his 24th Premier League goal, the most of any centre-back since his debut in the competition for Southampton in September 2015.
In terms of headed goals, John Terry (27) is the only defender to have scored more than Van Dijk (18) in Premier League history, with the Dutchman overtaking Liverpool legend Sami Hyypia (17) last Sunday.
Van Dijk's PL goals for Southampton and Liverpool
Leading by example
When Klopp handed the captaincy to Van Dijk in the summer of 2023, it felt like the only choice. He might be a different kind of leader to predecessor Jordan Henderson, less vocal and leading more by example, but Van Dijk has thrived in the role.
Having already been vice-captain prior to Henderson’s exit in 2023, Van Dijk had worn the armband plenty of times even before becoming the official club captain, and it was fitting that he scored the winner against West Ham as it came in his 100th match as skipper of Liverpool in the Premier League.
Of those matches, the Reds have won 69, drawn 19 and lost 12, keeping 33 clean sheets.
Van Dijk also led the way in last season’s EFL Cup success, scoring the winner against Chelsea at Wembley and leading a team largely made up of youth players by the end of the match to victory in extra-time.
It looks like he’ll be lifting silverware in his second season as captain too, with the Premier League title just six points away from being clinched.
It is not just on the field where Van Dijk shows elite leadership, either. ESPN’s Beth Lindop detailed on The Anfield Wrap podcast how Van Dijk interrupted his interviews in the mixed zone after the match to greet Liverpool fan Sean Cox.
Cox was left with life-changing brain injuries after being subject to an unprovoked attack ahead of the 2018 Champions League semi-final against Roma, and was a guest of the club for Sunday’s match.
Lindop also said that when journalists asked Van Dijk about his contract situation, he insisted the following days should be about paying tribute to the 97 victims of the Hillsborough disaster, with the 36th anniversary of the tragedy having been on Tuesday.
He turns 34 in July, which is why some doubted the club would pay the required money to keep him around. In the past, Liverpool have been reluctant to offer new deals to players over 30.
Just like with Salah, though, if ever there were an exception to the rule, the captain is surely it.
Van Dijk is staying at Anfield. This means Liverpool fans can, for now, remain calm as you like.
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