'It's almost difficult to describe'

Van Dijk ensured his legendary Reds career will continue beyond the 2024-25 season when he put pen to paper on fresh terms on Thursday.

The No.4 has established himself as one of the finest defenders in world football in the seven years since his arrival – but Slot explained how his importance to the club extends way beyond the pitch.

"It's almost difficult to describe," the head coach told reporters on Friday. "Because you know how important he is when you see him play, so that's what we all see.

"Everybody has given him compliments over the years so many times about how good he is as a defender. I mostly watch football and look at ball possession – he's so, so good at bringing the ball out from the back.

"His diagonal passes towards Mo [Salah] are known by everyone but the amount of times he plays balls through the lines, the timing when he passes it.

"And then the leader he is in and around this AXA Training Centre, that is something I haven't worked with, a player like him in terms of leadership.

"So, the energy he brings to the team in every single training session and how professional he is for himself but also tries to influence his teammates, especially the younger ones.

"I think Ryan [Gravenberch] is a great example for that – he [Van Dijk] is constantly on him trying to make him even more of a professional than Ryan already is, but Ryan wasn't used to playing so many games.

"He's having a big influence at this club but the main influence he has, of course, is on the weekend, and that is also the thing he has to focus on mostly.

"But the good thing with him is he also contributes here at the AXA and hopefully he can do that in the upcoming two seasons as well."

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