Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed the Liverpool dressing room are in awe of Virgil van Dijk.
The 27-year-old centre-back has transformed the defence since his arrival in the January transfer window from Southampton for over £70million.
Van Dijk has been an integral member of the Liverpool side that have won all six of their matches this season, including the midweek Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain.
“Everything he does, he does with confidence,” Alexander-Arnold told Sky Sports. “He shows on the pitch that he’s confident to do anything and he’s not fazed by anything.
“I think that runs throughout the team now with him bringing it out from the back and playing with such confidence, he’s just an unbelievable player and we all look up to him.”
OPINION
You have to be a very special footballer to almost instantly transform a mighty fine team into an outstanding one. That’s what Liverpool have been in the calendar year of 2018 since Van Dijk finally got the move he’d been waiting six months for. The Dutchman has purred his way through the last nine months with some Rolls-Royce performances that have made him an instant hero to supporters, as well as those who share a dressing room with him. Alexander-Arnold’s tribute is revealing, as he explains how the super-cool giant who has strikers for breakfast one second and then pings a 60-yard diagonal pass on a sixpence the next, makes those around him more assured. Liverpool’s defensive record this season speaks for itself. Five Premier League matches have yielded two goals conceded, a far cry from the pre-Van Dijk days when the defence was renowned for its vulnerability.