Chris Sutton has claimed Virgil van Dijk will never be the player he once was before he injured his knee on Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast.

When Liverpool played Everton in the Merseyside Derby in 2020, a challenge from England international Jordan Pickford saw the Dutchman suffer a serious knee injury that kept him out of action for nine months. 

After coming as a runner-up in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2019 and winning the Champions League with Liverpool, Sutton said the defender is not at the same level now and he will never be.

‘We just have to accept because of the Pickford challenge, he [Van Dijk] is not going to be the same again.

Liverpool have conceded the third least amount of goals of any team in the league this season

Chris Sutton has claimed Virgil van Dijk is not operating at the level he was back in 2019

This challenge from England’s Jordan Pickford saw Van Dijk miss nine months of action

‘He’s not going to suddenly go back to having that pace. And this was after it got to a stage where attacking players just did not know how to beat him. But that’s not the case anymore.’

Echoing these sentiments, fellow Mail Sport co-host Ian Ladyman suggested that Liverpool are two players short of competing for the title this season.

‘I wonder if they’re a couple players short,’ he said. ‘I think they would love a bit of what Arsenal have at the back because there’s just a little bit of chaos about Liverpool’s defending.

‘Van Dijk looks like he’s in this state of constant befuddlement at the moment, like he’s constantly confused as things go wrong around him. 

‘For whatever reason, whether it’s injuries, he is not at that same level he was at when Liverpool won the Champions League against Tottenham.’

He also added that if Liverpool want to become title challengers again, they will need to add another centre-half to Van Dijk as Konate does not seem to be able to hold down a starting space.

Before his injury, Van Dijk was at the level where he finished second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or