Virgil van Dijk is “one of the few leaders there are still in the world of football”, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has told Sky Sports.
Van Dijk, who joined the Reds from Southampton for a then-world-record fee for a defender of £75m in January 2018, put pen-to-paper on a new two-year deal earlier this week, keeping him at Liverpool until the summer of 2027.
Liverpool’s influential skipper will lead his side out away at Leicester on Sunday, live and exclusive on Sky Sports, as the Reds close in on their second Premier League title since Van Dijk’s arrival at the club.
Virgil van Dijk explains why he signed a contract extension with Liverpool
Slot admits Van Dijk’s new deal is the perfect tonic ahead of this weekend’s trip to the King Power Stadium.
“Huge news for the club, for the fans, for our players and for our staff, [we’re all] so pleased,” Slot told Sky Sports pundit and former LIverpool defender Jamie Carragher.
“Everybody knows how good of a player he is when they see him playing during the weekend, and we also know how important he is. I also know how important he is during the week when we train.
Sunday 20th April 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
“He is one of the few leaders there are still in the world of football for a team, and apart from that he’s shown this season again how important he is on the pitch.
“When we train, when we’re inside this building, if you look at him you see a big man, so you would expect him being a leader.
FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool’s match against West Ham in the Premier League
“But he’s not only a leader because he’s big and tall. He’s also smart, players respect him a lot, and he brings a lot of energy into training sessions.
Slot: Van Dijk so good on the ball
Slot added: “He knows what he says, he knows how to motivate his team-mates to get the best out of us every single day.
“And apart from that, when it comes to quality, I was surprised how incredibly good he is with bringing the ball out from the back. The first training session we did we were trying to get players free in between the lines, and he found them constantly.
“I knew how good of a player he was (before I arrived at Anfield), how important he was, but that he was that good on the ball was even a surprise to me.”
While Van Dijk appears to be revered and respected by most across the English game, fellow Dutchman Slot concedes that has perhaps not always been in the case, particularly in the pair’s homeland.
“Maybe at the moment things changed to a positive way during this season,” Slot said.
“But at the Euros he got quite a bit of criticism, the whole team got criticism, because although we reached the semi-final – and I think England scored just before the end to knock us out – during the whole tournament most pundits, most fans weren’t that happy the way we, the Netherlands, played.
Virgil van Dijk has faced plenty of scrutiny for his performances at international level
“And he, of course, by being such a leader, by being such an important figure, got a bit of criticism. Yes, he did, quite a lot actually. I don’t think he gets that criticism a lot in England, and I think the English people see things better than the Dutch!
“In terms of playing style people expected more, and he got quite a lot of criticism – more than he’s used to I think here in England.”
Watch Leicester City vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm this Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm. Stream with NOW.
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