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Virgil van Dijk is the most expensive defender in the world, yet who can say he hasn’t been worth every penny?

His impact upon Liverpool’s defensive record has been immense, which in turn has helped the Reds make a record breaking start to 2018/19.

Since joining from Southampton, Van Dijk has played 32 league matches for Liverpool. In those games, Jurgen Klopp’s team have kept 18 clean sheets and conceded just 17 goals, which is a remarkable return for almost a seasons-worth of matches.

While it’s not an unbroken run of league games since his debut – he missed matches with Manchester City and Huddersfield in January – you’ll struggle to find a better defensive record across 32 games.

In the Premier League era, Liverpool have had 1,001 runs of 32 games, and just four of them saw them concede fewer than 17 goals.

One of them happens to be their most recent 32 league games, but otherwise you have to go back to 2007 when Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia were in their pomp.

A big part of the improvement has been down to how Liverpool have been so much better at defending set pieces since Van Dijk came in.

It wasn’t so long ago that the Reds were poor at dealing with dead ball situations. In the eight seasons from 2009/10 to 2016/17, Liverpool conceded an average of 12 set piece goals in the league, and never fewer than 10.

Last season they only let in eight, and they’re almost at the half way point of 2018/19 having conceded just two, the joint-fewest in the league.

(Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

While the shot-stopping abilities of Alisson Becker will have played a part this season, the defence in front of him are allowing Liverpool’s opponents to have far fewer set piece shots than was previously the case.

Over the last seven seasons, the Reds conceded an average of 111 set piece shots per season, breaking the 100 barrier in every campaign prior to 2017/18. They’ve allowed just 31 so far this term, which extrapolates to 65 by the end of the campaign. This is in huge part thanks to Van Dijk’s aptitude for marshalling a defence. By ensuring Liverpool’s defensive line moves as a unit, the Reds have caught an average of 3.6 opponents per match offside this season, which is the most in the division.

And even when opposing players are onside, if a cross comes in then Liverpool’s number four is usually there to beat them to the ball.

Thirteen defenders attempted over 100 aerial duels in the second half of last season, and Jamaal Lascelles of Newcastle was the only one to win a higher proportion of them than Van Dijk did.

(Image: PA)

There are 13 who’ve contested at least 90 headed duels so far this season, and Van Dijk is top for win percentage. He has shown consistent form in this area, making Liverpool a far tougher nut to crack for the more direct sides, especially away from home.

You only have to look at this season for evidence of that – Van Dijk won seven aerial duels at Huddersfield, eight at Watford, nine at Palace and a mammoth 12 at Burnley.

Even the busiest defenders only average around six per game, showing how strongly the Dutchman dealt with extreme aerial bombardments.

It’s a pity he hasn’t been quite so prolific in opposition penalty boxes. Having had 34 shots in the league for Liverpool, he really should’ve scored more than once. Hopefully his goal at Wolves gets him up and running.

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That’s not to say he’s not been capable in the final third, though; he has assisted vital goals for Roberto Firmino against PSG at Anfield and Burnley at Turf Moor this season.

But his main strength is obviously at the back, where he’s powering Liverpool to new defensive records on what feels like a weekly basis at the moment. £75 million?

He’d be cheap at twice the price.

Go on, walk around him. He’s a colossus.