Virgil van Dijk has been a colossus since making his Liverpool bow back in 2018 - but much like many of his Anfield teammates, the imperious centre-half has been alarmingly off the pace this season.
The Reds were a force to be reckoned with on all fronts last year and were just a couple of results away from claiming an unprecedented quadruple under Jurgen Klopp. Many would have fancied Liverpool, led by Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, to regroup in style this year after missing out on the Premier League title and another European crown.
However, that hasn't been the story for Liverpool or their key man. And now Van Dijk has appeared to outline that a lack of confidence, rather than anything more sinister, is the main factor behind not only Liverpool's poor form but also his own lacklustre start to the new campaign.
Speaking after Sunday's 3-2 defeat against Arsenal, Van Dijk told Sky Sports: "Confidence is definitely a thing that plays a part but you know, we are all human beings and sometimes you need a bit of confidence in certain moments and it could also if your confidence is not as high not help you in situations.
"Like I said before, every human being in any job needs a little bit of confidence in order to perform at the highest level. If you are not winning at the highest level like we are used to, then confidence is creeping away but we know it can turn around just like that, we have to work hard."
Van Dijk's comments on a lack of confidence suggest that a return to form could come sooner rather than later if Liverpool can grind out some results in the coming weeks.
But former Anfield favourite Danny Murphy offered up a far bleaker assessment of Van Dijk's struggles last month after claiming that the defender was still being plagued by the ACL injury that he was struck down by back in 2020.
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Murphy previously told talkSPORT: "He's not up to his level. Before his injury, he was arguably looking like one of the best centre-halves we've ever seen.
"The injury, which is a huge one and he’s come back from, although he's not had problems in missing games, I think psychologically he's not in the same place. What I mean by that is not wanting to be as physically engaged with players and tackles.
"He's playing within himself a little bit and protecting himself a little bit without knowing it. I've played with players who have had ACL injuries before and when they come back you can see them doing it.
"I think there's maybe a little bit of staying out of trouble. You could argue the way he plays he doesn't get himself in that much trouble anyway. But there is always that thing in the back of your mind when you've had a bad injury, I think."
