Jordan Henderson opens up on Virgil van Dijk's 'huge impact' in Liverpool dressing room

Jordan Henderson has highlighted the ‘huge impact’ Virgil van Dijk has made at Liverpool beyond his contributions on the pitch.

The Dutchman has had a transformative effect on the Reds’ defence since his arrival from Southampton in January 2017.

A backline that was once considered the major weakness of Jurgen Klopp’s team is now the meanest in the Premier League, and also proved key to last season’s Champions League success.

That is thanks in no small part to the incredible performances Van Dijk has produced since his £75m transfer, but Henderson says the defender has also provided untold value in the dressing room.

Asked by BT Sport what the Dutchman has brought to the club, the skipper replied: “What hasn’t he brought, really?!

“I couldn’t speak highly enough of him as a player. Of course, everybody knows how good he is and what he’s done over the last couple of years as a team, he’s been immense. He’s won his individual awards and rightly so. He’s an unbelievable defender, an unbelievable player.

“But for me, he’s brought something huge off the pitch. I couldn’t speak highly enough of him off the pitch and the type of man and person that he is.

“He’s an incredible person, a great leader to have in the dressing room and he’s given everybody a big boost from the first minute that he came in.

“Every day it’s a pleasure to be around him, [he’s] always smiling, always in a good frame of mind and he’s had a huge impact in the dressing room and on the pitch since he’s been at the club.

“He does things properly, leads by example and I’m just delighted for him [with] how he’s been playing and getting all the awards that he’s been getting because it’s well deserved and he deserves everything he gets.”