Will incoming Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk silence the doubters?

For nearly three years, Virgil van Dijk was a phenomenon.

From the moment he arrived at Liverpool in January 2018, scoring the winning goal against Everton on his debut, he hit a level that was so imperious it is hard to ever do it justice.

From early 2018 until late 2020, Van Dijk was not only far and away the world’s leading centre-back, but one of the greatest ever seen in that position.

That is a statement that many rivals fans don’t want to hear, with lazy talk of longevity and trophies leading to them rating him below others, from John Terry to Rio Ferdinand, but the Dutchman was pure perfection and worthy of being spoken of among any iconic defender from any era.

Van Dijk was untouchable during those peak years under Jurgen Klopp, so much so that the aura he possessed seemingly made opposition attackers melt when they got close to him.

There was the incredible statistic about never being dribbled past in the whole of 2018/19 that was as ludicrous as it was funny – other supporters REALLY hated that one – and players didn’t even attempt to get the better of him most of the time.

Blisteringly quick, strong as an ox, a good leader, effortlessly silky on the ball, colossal in the air and a great reader of the game, Van Dijk produced an extended run of form that any defender in the history of football would have been proud to have.

Franz Beckenbauer, Franco Baresi, Bobby Moore – take your pick, he was every bit as good, and only nostalgia will cloud that.

How can you be any better than he was, quite frankly? He was genuinely faultless for 99% of the minutes he played.

For all the magic of Mohamed Salah, the world-class consistency of Alisson and the understated genius of Roberto Firmino, it is Van Dijk who ultimately deserves the most praise for turning Liverpool from a very good team into a truly great one.

Within four months of him coming in, Liverpool were in a Champions League final, having lost 4-1 to Tottenham just before he joined, at a time when Klopp was being heavily criticised.

That’s what you call influence.

Van Dijk didn’t lose at Anfield for almost his first five years with the Reds, eventually tasting defeat at home to Leeds in the Premier League last October – another scarcely believable stat. He is the only defender ever to win UEFA's Men's Player of the Year award, and finished second only to Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or stakes in 2019.

Early in the 2020/21 season, Van Dijk’s stock couldn’t have been higher, even if Liverpool had just lost 7-2 away to Aston Villa in freakish circumstances behind closed doors.

Then Jordan Pickford happened.

The Everton goalkeeper’s shocking lunge on Van Dijk not only failed to earn the Reds a penalty, but it ruptured the defender's cruciate ligament. He didn’t feature again for the whole of the campaign, also missing Euro 2020.

There were fears about how significantly such a severe injury would affect Liverpool’s number four, considering he was 29 when the setback happened, but the early signs were actually extremely positive.

Van Dijk roared back in 2021/22, once again proving to be a talismanic figure as Klopp’s men came so glory to winning a history-making quadruple, making 51 appearances in total and arguably looking as good as new.

All seemed well with him, but last season was the first time that genuine doubts have started to creep in over whether he has now drifted past his peak, following a hugely below-par campaign.

Liverpool’s endless issues clearly didn’t help the Netherlands international, not least getting no protection from an ailing midfield, but it would also be remiss to ignore his own shortcomings.

Too often, Van Dijk looked somewhere between lethargic and disengaged, and whereas he once produced immaculate performances without a hint of an error, mistakes were thrown in at a more alarming rate.

There were lapses in concentration, moments lacking in intensity, such as closing down shots, and perhaps most worryingly, signs that his underrated and searing pace was on the wane.

Many individuals struggled, as did Liverpool as a whole team, so an overreaction with Van Dijk is uncalled for – he was still better than a lot of central defenders out there – but it is also understandable that there are a few concerns with him as we head into the new season.

He should be well-rested after a much-called-for summer holiday – one that Klopp, the players and every associated with the club needed – and it looks increasingly as though the man who has worn the armband on 43 occasions will be named the Reds’ next captain with Jordan Henderson departing for Saudi Arabia.

That will be a great honour, and one that he will no wear with pride, but far more important is that he gets back to those 2018-2020 levels, or at least something very close to it.

At 32, has Van Dijk simply peaked?

Did the injury cause him to lose a yard of pace?

Will Ibrahima Konate slowly become Liverpool’s most trusted centre-back from now on?

The answers to these questions will become far clearer once the campaign gets underway, and it will be fascinating to see how he fares, starting away to Chelsea next month.

Few things would be more pleasing than seeing Van Dijk shrug off 2022/23 as a blip, prior to enjoying another three or four years at an absolutely world-class level, silencing some of the doubters in the process.

Van Dijk will certainly be aided by the midfield signings coming in, not to mention a refreshed squad not littered with injuries, and seeing how this next chapter of his Reds career pans out will be intriguing.

Whatever happens between now and the end of his career, he is a Liverpool legend and one of the finest centre-backs of his generation, but creating more brilliance for a sustained period and winning trophies as Reds skipper would add an extra cherry on top of his already-iconic legacy.