Former Tottenham striker Garth Crooks has been praising the return of Liverpool central defender Virgil van Dijk.
The 30-year-old has made a successful comeback from a lengthy layoff following surgery to an ACL injury suffered in the Merseyside derby last October.
Since returning during pre-season, Van Dijk has played every minute in an unbeaten Premier League season this term and was impressive up against Chelsea and Romelu Lukaku on Saturday.
Writing on BBC Sport, the now pundit was full of admiration for the manner in which the Dutchman has begun the new campaign.
The Netherlands international is slowly but surely coming back to the boil. Not only is he commanding his own penalty area again, but he is also venturing forward more and becoming a threat in the opposition box. Defenders like Van Dijk come around once in a generation.
The 38 times capped Holland captain has earned an average Sofascore rating of 7.43 across the first three league matches.
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Valued at £49.5million and newly under contract until 2025 at Anfield (Transfermarkt), Van Dijk has proven to be integral to Jurgen Klopp’s side in his absence last term.
Although the side was further damaged by the loss of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, the Reds struggled without their talismanic leader at the back.
Albeit not yet up to full speed, Kopites can be confident their main man is well on the road to being back to his outstanding best.
