Virgil van Dijk's air of invincibility has begun to disappear during Liverpool's wobbly end to the season - but extending world-class captain's contract is still a no-brainer for Arne Slot and FSG

When Liverpool routed Tottenham on February 6 to overcome a first-leg deficit and progress to the final of the Carabao Cup 4-1 on aggregate, Arne Slot's side were still competing on four fronts, which once again sparked talk of a historic quadruple. The Reds were undeniably in a strong position, with the Premier League leaders having finished top of the Champions League league phase and drawn Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Salah's record-breaking attacking goals-and-assists numbers were unsurprisingly dominating the headlines, but it was Van Dijk's seemingly effortless excellence that Jamie Carragher felt compelled to flag after the 4-0 win over Spurs.

"He’s too good for the highest level of football," the former Liverpool defender said in the Sky Sports studio at Anfield. "It’s almost like it’s still too easy for him. It almost feels like there should be another level above that for Van Dijk because he plays the game with such ease.

"I watched him here recently against [Erling] Haaland - the best goal-scorer around, a big, powerful lad who’s got pace – and it doesn’t even feel like Van Dijk is trying. Did he even sprint in the game tonight?!"

Carragher has, of course, long been accused of being biased towards his former club - a claim that he addressed again only last week - but it's worth remembering that ex-Tottenham defender Michael Dawson was just as effusive in his praise of Van Dijk.

"He never gets dirty; he looks immaculate at the end of [a game] because he cruises through," Dawson told Sky. "He gets people [into position], he’s always talking. He plays in front of him. He is calm and everything about him just oozes class."

Carragher was just warming up, though, as he then went on to claim that when it comes to the finest defenders the Premier League has ever seen, Van Dijk is in a class of his own.

"He is the best," the Scouser said, "and it's not even a debate. This nonsense about all the other defenders who are great defenders, and I've played with a lot of them, he's so far above them. It's a joke."

Of course, many fans of Liverpool's rivals are now arguing that the joke is on Carragher, as Van Dijk has looked anything but comfortable in recent weeks.

There were times during both legs of the Champions League last-16 loss to Paris Saint-Germain that Van Dijk appeared unsure which hole to plug, as Ousmane Dembele & Co. took it turns to torment Liverpool's full-backs, while Alexander Isak, one of the few forwards to consistently cause the Netherlands international problems over the past couple of years, scored the crucial second goal for Newcastle in the shock the Carabao Cup final defeat at Wembley on March 16.

In fairness to Van Dijk, he was arguably let down by those around him in those instances, but there's simply no denying that he was seriously troubled by both Beto and Rodrigo Muniz against Everton and Fulham, respectively, before he put in arguably his worst display of the campaign against West Ham last Sunday.

Beto missed a glorious chance to put Everton 1-0 up in the midweek Merseyside derby at Anfield after leaving Van Dijk trailing in his wake, while Muniz muscled the Reds skipper off the ball before getting away from him with a sublime first touch and then slotting home. Against the Hammers, meanwhile, the ex-Celtic star routinely missed his kick when attempting clearances and looked flustered all afternoon even before his mix-up with Andy Robertson that led to the Scot putting through his own goal late on.

Van Dijk, of course, ensured that the mistake wouldn't lead to Liverpool dropping points, as he popped up at the other end three minutes later to power home a header and secure a 2-1 victory, but there is no doubt that he hasn't been at his best from a defensive point of view in the past couple of months.

It was telling in itself that Slot had to address his on-field leader's alleged dip in form after the 3-2 at Craven Cottage that preceded the West Ham win.

"If you look at Beto, Virgil wasn’t the first defender to find it hard to play against him as he chases for every ball, pushes you just before you get the ball," the Reds boss said in his post-match press conference. "The one who played there today, Muniz, you have to give a lot of credit to him as well.

"I still see a lot of things that Virgil does really well. If you play 50 to 60 games a season, even for Virgil, there will be one or two moments where he could have done better. I don't worry about Virgil."

Slot is right, too: there's certainly no need for panic - or to question the willingness to give the 33-year-old a new deal.

As Slot quite correctly pointed out, a few mistakes are inevitable for a central defender tasked with playing so many games - and literally nobody plays anymore than Van Dijk.

The veteran is one of only two outfield players (along with Brentford's Nathan Collins) to have played every single minute of the Premier League season so far (2,880 in total), which only goes to underline his continued importance to the Liverpool cause.

Van Dijk is also as dependable as ever from a defensive perspective. He's still utterly dominant in the air (only Collins and Dan Burn have won more headers), while he retains a rare ability to anticipate danger, as underlined by the fact that he ranks fourth across the entire league for interceptions made, with 50.

As for his range of passing, even Slot has admitted that when he first arrived at Anfield, he was blown away by just how good his compatriot is on the ball. Consequently, he's become utterly integral to 'Slotball', which is preoccupied with possession. Van Dijk has completed more passes this season than any other Premier League player (and it's not even close), while he ranks second among defenders for successful long balls.

For all the recent criticism, there is still no better nor more influential centre-back in the Premier League, making him a shoo-in for the Team of the Season and a serious threat to Salah's hopes of winning Player of the Year.

Given Van Dijk's enduring brilliance, it was "strange", as former Manchester United and Netherlands centre-back Jaap Stam put it, that it tool Liverpool until mid-April to tie their captain down to the new two-year contract that was made official on Thursday - particularly as they're so short at the back.

Unlike Premier League rivals Arsenal, Manchester City (when everyone is fit) or even Nottingham Forest, the Reds are not blessed in the central defensive department. Ibrahima Konate has claimed that his impressive displays often go overlooked because of Van Dijk's brilliance, but the truth is that the Frenchman is always an accident waiting to happen, while Jarell Quansah is still very much a work in progress and Joe Gomez remains frustratingly injury-prone.

In that context, the Van Dijk renewal should have always been a no-brainer for Fenway Sports Group (FSG). The only surprise is that it's taken so long to make some real progress, as finding someone really good enough to play alongside him has proven difficult enough for Liverpool's recruitment team; trying to find a worthy heir in the current market would have been impossible.

Because while Van Dijk may be starting to lose his air of invincibility, which was bound to happen sooner or later, he remains peerless in the Premier League.