3 Reasons why Virgil van Dijk deserves to win the Ballon d'Or 2019

2) A catalyst for major success

A perfect signing, Van Dijk has transformed the Reds

When was the last time a single signing transformed an entire club? You would have to think of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo for a perfect answer. Most recently, it has been Virgil van Dijk.

When Jurgen Klopp came to Anfield, the team he inherited was in shambles. There were issues in every corner of the field, and he had to correct all of them. The attack was complete when Mohamed Salah was signed to complement Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

The midfield was complete when he signed Fabinho to play with Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson. The only remaining issue was the defence. Even though Andy Robertson, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez were doing a good job at the back, there was that lack of a leader, the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

Ever since he was signed for Liverpool in January 2018, van Dijk transformed the team. Standing at 6'4", you would think that the Dutch captain was made in a laboratory as an example of the perfect centre-back. Calm, disciplined, tall, and strong, there is no aspect of van Dijk's game that needed improvement.

Within his first few games at Anfield, a change could already be seen. Liverpool fans have always been nervous when they go even 2-0 up, as their team was prone to blow away leads. Post van Dijk, even 1-0 leads started to look like a definitive win.

Neither of Salah or Fabinho single-handedly had an impact at the club that the former Southampton captain did. You take Salah out, Mane and Firmino can still net goals. Take Fabinho out and sure, the midfield struggles, but the overall style of the team comes to play and they make do.

Take Van Dijk out, and the level of security and assuredness at the back just goes away.

Since van Dijk arrived at Anfield on January 22, 2018, here are the stats which show how much he has changed the club (accurate to 8th November 2019) -

Games played - 95

Wins - 64, Win percentage - 67.4%

Draws - 17, Defeats - 14

Goals conceded - 85, Goals conceded per game - 0.89

In the 2018-19 season (which is the season relevant for the Ballon d'Or award), van Dijk and Liverpool conceded the least goals across the top 5 leagues in Europe (22), and no centre-back kept as many clean sheets as him (20).

Van Dijk had a whopping aerial duel success rate of 74.2%, and his mere presence at the back changed the way forwards have attacked Liverpool.

His error which led to Napoli's goal in the recent Champions League group game was his first in over a year, which paints a story of the defender's insane consistency.

Even for the Netherlands, his captaincy and abilities have helped revamp a Dutch side which did not even qualify for the 2018 captain.

He and Matthijs de Ligt now form one of the deadliest duos at the back in international football, and manager Ronald Koeman only has great things to say about his captain.