Virgil van Dijk told that he looks like a shadow of his former self at Liverpool this season

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Virgil van Dijk hasn’t been at the races for Liverpool this season.

In fact, almost all of Liverpool’s first-team squad have performed well below their usual standards, but their defence has been their Achilles heel.

Alongside the Dutchman, Ibrahima Konate has had one of his worst campaigns for Liverpool ever, with questions still being asked about what the future holds for the Frenchman.

And, even though Van Dijk has been one of the Reds’ best players over the last few years, a lot more should be coming from him with Theo Walcott now suggesting that the centre-back is a “shadow” of his former self.

Theo Walcott slams Virgil van Dijk for his Liverpool performances

Liverpool are 7th in the Premier League table with the Anfield outfit now seven points behind league leaders, Arsenal.

The Gunners have only lost one game all season, and that was to the Reds, but it’s clear that the three-point advantage they earned over them isn’t going to be enough for Liverpool to compete.

Unless Arne Slot’s men manage to turn things around soon, it’s hard to see how they’ll even be in the title race by the end of November.

And now, while speaking on the It’s Called Soccer Podcast, Walcott has torn into Liverpool with a specific focus on Van Dijk.

“You have Virgil van Dijk, who looks an absolute shadow of a player, Konate has been up and down,” he said.

“There is no structure to the way they play now, there’s no balance.

“Virgil used to have a solid brick in front of him in Gravenberch, but now he has no one at times, and you have players who don’t want to commit to tackles.

“The physical side of it has gone out of the window, so for me Liverpool need to go back to basics and forget about the egos because that is a big problem for me right now.”

Liverpool need to go back to square one and start getting the basics right again

One thing that has been made clear about Liverpool this season is that they’re prone to mistakes.

This is unusual because, over the last few years, the Reds have been one of the most defensively solid teams in the league, and now, it’s unclear which version of the Anfield outfit fans are going to get each week.

If they don’t manage to claw their way back into the title race or even the top four, some serious questions will need to be asked.

Liverpool’s next four games are going to be tough with the Anfield outfit facing the likes of Crystal Palace, Manchester City, and Real Madrid.

So, unless they can figure out what the cause of all their problems are soon, the Reds’ season could be over before it’s even really started.