1 year ago
212 Virgil van Dijk was sent off against Newcastle at the weekend after making a mis-timed challenge at St James’ Park.
In uncharacteristic fashion, the Dutchman was left for dead at the back, and he had to rush into a challenge to give himself any chance of stopping Alexander Isak from getting through on goal.
Van Dijk really isn’t a player you associate with such errors, but it has to be said that this is happening more and more often these days.
Speaking on his podcast, top Irish pundit, Eamon Dunphy, has given his verdict on Van Dijk’s recent form, and he says that he thinks he hasn’t been the same player since his injury and that he’s lost a yard or two of pace in recent years.
Van Dijk has gotten slower
Dunphy gave his verdict on the £75m player.
“I think Gary Neville said this, he didn’t think that Van Dijk would’ve made that tackle before the knee injury he had, that used to be a career ender but they can fix it now up to a point, but he hasn’t quite been the same player, I think he’s lost a yard or two of pace, what do you think of Van Dijk?” Dunphy said.
Bound to slow down
In all honesty, it’s not surprising to see that Van Dijk has lost that yard of pace.
He’s had a serious knee injury in recent years, and he’s now 32 years old, that’s not exactly young in footballing terms.
The sad reality is that a mix between injury and age probably means that Van Dijk is past his physical peak, and it has to be said that he has slowed down.
We can only hope he can adjust his game to continue to dominate, because, on his day, the Dutchman is a joy to watch.
The post ‘Lost a yard or two’: Pundit says £75m Liverpool player has actually gotten so much slower appeared first on The Boot Room.
