Van Dijk claims he is not in top shape yet at Liverpool

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has got more left in the tank, according to man himself.

The Dutch centre-back is still not at his optimum, despite completing his £75million transfer from Southampton at the start of January.

Van Dijk was immediately thrown into his debut in the Merseyside derby with Everton and he scored as the Reds saw off their rivals in the FA Cup.

The 26-year-old was then left out of the starting line-up on a couple of occasions by Jurgen Klopp, but he has played the 90 minutes in each of the Reds’ last six Premier League games -losing just once against Man Utd.

 

Van Dijk has admitted he is feeling better about his fitness, but claims he has more to give.

“Do I feel settled in now? Yeah, definitely. Quicker than I might have thought? I don’t know,” Van Dijk told the Liverpool Echo.

“Obviously you come here with expectations and you want to play as soon as possible and as much as possible this season and be as fit as possible and quick as possible.

“Now, I’m getting better and better and the understanding with all of the players is getting much better. I’m just playing my game and trying to help my team.

“What per cent am I now? That’s difficult. But I’m completely over the ankle problems, definitely. That was already the case when I started playing again at Southampton.

“It’s more than that, it’s also just condition-wise and the way Liverpool play you need to be spot on. That’s pretty clear right now.”