Jurgen Klopp says Virgil van Dijk won't be at his best until AFTER summer
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Jurgen Klopp has insisted he has no problems with Virgil van Dijk's fitness...and his struggles so far “are only to be expected”.
And the Liverpool manager hit back at suggestions from Reds old boy Jamie Carragher that the £75m record signing needs to lose weight, by joking: 'Jamie needs to lose weight more than him!”
Van Dijk was left out of the Reds side which won at Huddersfield in midweek, after struggling in his previous two matches when Liverpool lost to the bottom two Premier League clubs.
He also missed the incredible victory over Manchester City, but Klopp insisted the defender was always going to take time to settle in.
“Wow. I am sure Jamie needs to lose a little bit of weight, but I am not sure with Virgil it is the case,” Klopp said.
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
“He is a big and tall player, that is how it is. We have the best nutrition department and no-one came to me and said we need to work with him. Being fit means all of that so you have at the end more muscle than anything else. It is not an issue, not at all.
“I am very happy (with him), it is just exactly as clear as it would be. A few ups and downs and we will see Virgil van Dijk at his best after the summer but we don't have the time to wait until then and why should we?”
Klopp believes that van Dijk's struggles so far are purely down to fitness levels after missing much of the first half of the season at Southampton through injury.
And he also explained that the most expensive defender in the world still needs time to adjust to a new system.
“It is quite difficult because our defending style is different to Southampton or to Holland so that's why it makes so much sense you get used to it.
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
“At the moment it is like I expect to be honest, completely normal. At Huddersfield, (being left out) it was purely a physical thing. When Virgil came here he was not fit, that is the truth.
“He had a long injury, then he played, then he was injured, then the transfer was kind of an open case and he didn't play for Southampton so it was not a consistent season so far.
“I don't know long enough to say 'Yes you can play all three games in a week in this moment. That is why Virgil didn't play. I spoke to him and he expected it.
“He is still a new player but you cannot train in a Premier League match so we need to use the time between the matches and in the matches we have to deliver.”
Van Dijk looks set to return against Spurs at the weekend, while Gino Wijnaldum should also come back into the midfield.