‘Made the next step’… Virgil van Dijk says one Liverpool player has really improved recently

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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been delighted by the recent form of Wataru Endo.

With Alexis Mac Allister injured, Endo transformed into a key figure in Liverpool’s midfield over the festive season. Starting eight games in a row, the 30-year-old was really impressive.

Unfortunately, Endo will now head off to Qatar for the Asian Cup, which could make him unavailable to the Reds for more than a month.

And in quotes via The Daily Mail, Van Dijk has outlined why Liverpool will miss their No.3 so much while he’s gone.

“We know he has the ability to be playing at the highest level and he’s shown that the last couple of weeks,” said the 32-year-old. “He’s made the next step and that goes with confidence – he’s a human being and confidence helps.

“He’s a very solid six. And I think in modern-day football all the top teams have a very important six and it’s one of the most underrated roles on the pitch and you have to get someone there to protect and to also be the link to the front. He’s stepped up and we’re going to miss him.”

Van Dijk hails Endo improvement

Endo’s transformation into a No.6 that Liverpool can depend on and put their trust in has been lovely to watch.

The Japan captain was a baffling signing to many supporters last summer, and his early performances only underlined the initial scepticism.

It’s not that Endo was particularly bad as such during his early outings. He just didn’t look up to speed for what Liverpool need from a holding midfielder.

Having become used to seeing Fabinho get rings ran around him last season, there was a worry that it would happen again.

However, Endo has proved just about everyone wrong. Not only does he cover more ground than anyone else, but he’s also chipping in with a few goals, too.

The most noticeable improvement about his game has almost certainly been Endo’s positional play.

Where he was at first sitting a little too deep, the former Stuttgart man is now clearly focusing on an area of the pitch a little higher up. Winning the ball back closer to the final third is so vital to what Liverpool do, and he’s now completing that really well.

It’s a shame that Endo now has to depart just as he’s hitting his stride. As Virgil says, we’ll miss him. With Mac Allister returning, it would have been nice to see the Argentine playing further forward with Endo behind him. Instead, we’ll just have to wait.