"He limits himself" - Netherlands legend on Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk

Former Netherlands international Marco van Basten has said that Virgil van Dijk can still improve his overall game.

Speaking to Ziggo Sport, as cited by SportWitness, Van Basten claimed that Virgil 'can still improve' despite an impressive season.

“Of course, his development has really gone from low to high, and he is definitely at the top now,” said Van Basten.

“He’s a grandiose defender and a grandiose player. He’s fast, he can head well, he has good passing, good technique and yet I do think he can still improve, especially in his presence.

“He could be controlling, use possession quicker, midfield play quicker, getting the ball forward in the right way.

“I think he can do much more, he often limits himself to playing the ball to his full-backs, but he has a great pass in him. He can dribble in; he has good technique to do it. He can be much more dominant.

“The slower he goes, the harder it becomes for the midfielders and attackers to get that ball right to go on the attack.

“He plays an important role; he needs to have that intention to go forward and to find depth, and if that doesn’t work, then go sideways instead. He’s content with what he’s doing now.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

The reason why our centre-backs pass to our full-backs is that they're our creative outlet. In any other team, it's understandable that sideway passes are criticised, but in our playstyle that opinion is irrelevant.

Virgil also has a lot of freedom to play long-balls in this team. This season he has attempted 511 long passes, completing 403. A long pass accuracy of 78.9%.

We did have to wait a few months to witness Van Dijk back to his absolute best after his injury last season but at this current moment in time, he is definitely back to his old 'Rolls Royce' self.

His return is one of the main reasons why Liverpool are within a realistic shot of winning the quadruple this season.