Virgil van Dijk, and the No-Caveat Player; and How Liverpool Can Get More Well-Rounded

Many of Liverpool's most-rounded players are still young, with massive scope to improve

Football is perhaps easiest with no-caveat players; players who, certainly in their pomp before age and/or injury gets in the way, can do everything.

For me, prime Virgil van Dijk was no-caveat. Some may say he was too casual at times, but no-caveat is different from 100% perfect. He was still as close to perfect as perfect got, and even approaching 34, isn’t far off his best.

With such players, you are not mitigating for a weakness. Trent Alexander-Arnold is a high-caveat player, by contrast.

However, as Jürgen Klopp said, you try to make the most of a talent like that. You build a team to play to his strengths; but of course, this means opponents will seek to punish his weaknesses. No-caveat players are rare.

Steven Gerrard is perhaps the best example, albeit tactically he could go AWOL. But as a footballer, he could do everything. Like van Dijk, he was tall, fast, strong, and technically brilliant. He was a competitor, a winner, and a ball-player too. In terms of strikers, the Fernando Torres of 2007-2009 was that, too.

While van Dijk remains elite, he’s not got the scary pace that meant players simply stop trying to take him on. For several years, few would dare waste their time. If they did, more fool them. Literally, no one got past him.

Of course, van Dijk and Gerrard are generational talents – you’d put them into the best Premier League-era XIs, unless you were deluded – but I think Liverpool potentially have a few more who have relatively few caveats, including some of the up-and-coming players, who though not yet world-class, have few notable weaknesses.

Using data, I have analysed who are Liverpool’s most ‘complete’ players, but as ever, with added eye-test. And I look at how much I think certain players will improve.

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