Our former Scottish midfielder, who won three European Cups during his stint at Anfield, has praised the £75m centre-back, who should remain in the side after his heroic debut.
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“Van Dijk will make them more solid,” Souness wrote in The Times.
“I believed he would come down from Celtic and would be too casual and get caught out in England, but he’s made it look easy, the same way he did in Scotland.
“That’s a mark of how good he is.
“He’s never extended, never seems to be running flat out in a race with somebody, never seems to be using all his strength when nudging somebody off the ball and never seems to be under pressure when making passes.
“He always plays within himself, which is a great sign.
“He has always got another yard or gear to find, and that’s why he reminds me of Alan [Hansen].”
Van Dijk made mistakes on debut, but what impressed us most was the manner in which he commanded the rest of the defence.
From the first whistle, he was barking orders, deciding where the line should be and generally providing the kind of leadership role we’ve so badly lacked at the back.
Joel Matip was widely regarded as our best defender, but he lacked authority next to van Dijk, which shows us how badly we needed elite defenders recruited.
Hopefully our new signing can do the job today against Manchester City.