How 'another level' Van Dijk 'surprised' Reds boss Slot

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has expressed his surprise at the outstanding performances of team captain Virgil van Dijk, stating that the defender's level has "gone up another level."

Van Dijk, 33, who has six months left on his contract with Liverpool, made his 300th appearance for the Reds in their 4-1 victory over Ipswich on Saturday. In his eight years at Anfield, the Dutch center-back has won the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, European Super Cup, FA Cup, and two League Cups.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future at the club, he has led Liverpool to the top of the Premier League this season, into the Champions League last 16, and to the semi-finals of the League Cup. Speaking to Gary Lineker on the Football Focus program, Slot said, "In England, everyone will tell you that Virgil van Dijk is the best defender in the world."

"In Holland, he gets a little bit more criticism than in England. I was very positively surprised by how good he is on the ball and how he opens up the game with his passing. From the first day I was here, I thought, 'Wow, this is definitely another level than I was used to.' But in England, people are already used to that," Slot stated. Lineker's interview with Slot will air on BBC One's Football Focus at 12:00 GMT on Saturday, where the pair will discuss a wide range of topics, and Slot also challenged Lineker to a game of padel tennis. The program will also be available on BBC iPlayer and online, with a version also being released on BBC Sounds' Football Daily.

Slot, 46, took over as Liverpool manager last summer, succeeding Jurgen Klopp. Currently, the Reds are at the top of the Premier League, six points ahead of Arsenal with a game in hand. Liverpool also finished top of their Champions League group and progressed to the last 16 with a game to spare after a seven-game winning streak, and they will play their final group stage match against Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday. Slot admitted that the season has progressed better than he anticipated. "You wouldn't expect to have this many points after 20 games, and I didn't expect us to be on top with this kind of margin," he added. "It's always nice to be on top, but nobody would have expected this. I'm the last one who would have wanted to see (reigning champions Manchester City) doing so badly."

Slot, who signed a three-year contract with Liverpool last summer, is already thinking about how to improve the club. He said, "Liverpool should always be fighting for the league title, and we should always be fighting for the Champions League. I hope I can keep the club at this level. I know people sometimes question this because they don't see us making too many moves in the summer transfer market and now in the winter transfer market. There's a reason for that—because we're happy with the squad we have. But I do know that we will definitely try to strengthen the squad in the summer."

As a player, Slot was a prolific attacking midfielder who twice led Zwolle to promotion from the Dutch second division to the Eredivisie and also played in the UEFA Cup with NAC Breda. The path to becoming a coach came naturally to Slot, who managed Dutch sides Cambuur, AZ Alkmaar, and Feyenoord, winning the league title with Feyenoord before his move to Liverpool. He added, "I don't think anyone who played with me would be surprised that I'm now a coach. I quickly realized, 'I'm going to enjoy this as much as possible, and I definitely want to be a coach.'" During his time in the Netherlands, he often showed his players clips of Liverpool matches, particularly from their 2019-20 Premier League title-winning season.

So, how does his own playing ability compare to his current team? "It's a bit embarrassing in the Liverpool office with all these players talking about my own playing career," he said with a laugh. "I always joke that I wasn't fast. Some people say I was slow. Usually, if you're slow, you're good at holding runs. But I wasn't good at holding runs either. But if I had to say one quality I think I had, it was the right timing (of passes), the right speed in the right direction. In the Eredivisie, you have to have something to stay ahead—I had a good understanding of the game."

One difficulty Slot faces is that his family is still in the Netherlands. "It's difficult," he admitted. "The good thing is that it's only an hour's flight. The kids are in school, doing their exams. But they have been over here a lot, especially in the first half of the season when we had a lot of international breaks. The most difficult period for me is now. From November to March, there are no breaks in England, which means you don't see them as often as you would like. It gives me a lot of time to prepare and work, so maybe I'm a better coach now than I was in Holland."