How long will Virgil van Dijk be vital to Liverpool’s XI?

It seems 24 hours is a long time in football. In the span of a day, news emerged that both Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and midfield anchor Fabinho may be on the way out of the club, per David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano, respectively.

With that, two-thirds of what has been Liverpool’s starting midfield for so long looked unlikely to suit up for the Reds again. Further, Henderson’s potential exit will leave Liverpool without a captain and a vice-captain, with James Milner having left the club upon the expiry of his contract.

It seems Virgil van Dijk will take up the armband, although nothing has been confirmed by the club yet. He would often take up captain duties when the English duo were out of the starting lineup.

There was a time not so long ago that considering a Liverpool starting XI without Virgil van Dijk would be considered madness.

Indeed, the Reds’ difficulties in the season following their 2019-20 title triumph were mostly credited to the absence of the talismanic Dutchman (and the loss of most of the center-back corps).

But last season, there were cracks appearing in the previously impervious center-back’s armor. No longer was he considered an immovable object. In fact, it seemed easier for players to run past him than it had ever been before.

There were articles upon articles written about how so few players had dribbled past Van Dijk since his move to Liverpool. In fact, according to TalkSport, he hadn’t been dribbled past for 50 games entering a 2019 clash against Arsenal—it was Nicholas Pepe (remember him?) who beat the colossal No. 4 that day.

According to WhoScored, Van Dijk had been dribbled past no more than 0.2 times per Premier League game for Liverpool until last season, when that figure climbed up to 0.3. In fact, that 0.2 figure was never surpassed in any competition until last season’s Champions League, when it landed on 0.4. It might seem like a minimal increase, but it certainly appeared players were not as scared to take him on in games last year.

There are mitigating circumstances, of course. Ibrahima Konaté was his partner for most of last season, and while the Frenchman has demonstrated plenty of promise during his Reds stint, he still shows signs of naivety.

Add in the fact that Liverpool were playing with essentially three defenders (and Konaté covering two positions alone) at the tail end of last season to accommodate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s hybrid right-back/central midfield role, and it’s understandable that Van Dijk may have been out of position and left vulnerable on more occasions.

He’s also got a hell of a lot of miles in his boots, both at club level and internationally. He played 51 games for the Reds in 2021-22, barely getting a break before the next season began. With a World Cup plonked right in the middle of the last campaign, the wear on his aching bones must have taken its toll.

At 32-years-old and with a cruciate ligament injury on his injury record, can this be viewed as the start of a sharp decline?

Perhaps, but Liverpool had trouble all over the pitch last year, and with the midfield not offering the same protection as in the past, maybe a revamped unit will provide the Dutchman with the support he increasingly needs, thus offering the possibility of a bounce-back season in 2023-24.

Arguably, you’d also expect the captain to be in the starting XI more often than not. Jordan Henderson only had 23 Premier League starts last season, but Van Dijk is still the unquestioned first pick at the heart of defense.

However you slice it, it’s a crucial year for Van Dijk. While the midfield rebuild has taken precedence over defensive reinforcements, Liverpool has nonetheless been linked with a few center-back targets. Perhaps this is his last full year as the unquestioned leader of the back line.