Jordan Henderson may be club captain at Liverpool but Virgil van Dijk “has all the attributes of a leader”, says former Reds defender Sami Hyypia.
The armband at Anfield is currently in the possession of an experienced midfielder, with James Milner his deputy.
Van Dijk has, however, shown across his time on Merseyside that he can be a talismanic presence in Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The commanding Dutch centre-half is considered to be vital to Liverpool’s plans, with Hyypia seeing him as a skipper in all but name.
He told The Mirror of Van Dijk: “He’s not got the armband, but he has all the attributes of a leader.
“You don’t need the armband to be a leader or an important character on the field or in the dressing room.
“We needed a leader and, when Virgil arrived, he filled that void. In my opinion, Jordan Henderson and James Milner are a good captain and vice-captain, but it’s not enough to just have two – you need maybe four or five.
“Virgil was a good addition to that and he took the weight off the other two captains.
Getty“He gives a lot of confidence to everyone, is always talking on the field and makes everyone around him play better.
“For me, he’s the last piece of the puzzle in the search for the first Premier League title.
“Attacking-wise, we were going in the right direction, but, in defence, we needed him to close the circle.”
Klopp has his side back in contention for the Premier League crown in 2019-20.
The Reds missed out to Manchester City by a solitary point last season, but have pulled eight clear of the defending champions in the current campaign.
Liverpool are faultless through eight games this season and have stretched a run of successive victories in the English top-flight to 17 matches.
Further tests of their title credentials lie in store, with a return to domestic action set to be made on Sunday away at arch-rivals Manchester United.
If they are able to negotiate a few more hurdles, then a 30-year wait for domestic glory could be brought to a close.
Van Dijk will have an integral role to play in that quest, with the Netherlands international considered to be as important to the cause as fearsome frontmen Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.