Claude Puel says that Virgil Van Dijk was angry and had bad habits

Leicester boss Claude Puel revealed some of Virgil van Dijk's bad habits during his stay in Southampton.

Van Dijk has been a key figure for the Reds this season, starting every Premier League and conceding only 13 goals in 23 games, winning 19 of those games after leaving the South Coast for £ 75m just over 12 month.

In fact, the 27-year-old central defender has not missed a Premier League game for the club since the trip to Huddersfield in January 2018.

Puel knows everything about the Dutch defenseman who, he said, was "the best defender of the world" at St Mary's, but he revealed that the central defender had some negative traits that needed to be eliminated.

"When I arrived in Southampton, he was of course a good player and I said at the time that for me he was the best defender in the world, but he was comfortable and had habits, "said Puel.

"At first, he liked to defend himself in depth and it was a pity that it was sometimes too easy.

"At first it was a bit difficult to argue with him and change and evaluate, he got angry. But step by step, he corrected things and improved his movements, cover himself and defend himself, under cover and without risk.

"We know that all the big teams like to have possession of the ball to play high. Defenders must learn to defend with a lot of space behind them. To play in big teams, this is the aspect they need and he is now a very high level modern defender.

"In Liverpool, he took another dimension. This is a fantastic player. My feeling about him does not change in Liverpool. He is strong, powerful, fast, technical, he can play under pressure without problem. It's fantastic.

"In Southampton he was the best defender in the world, but he confirmed it in Liverpool, I think."

Leicester is expected to face Van Dijk tonight at Anfield, while the hosts hope to be seven points clear of Man City, second.

Van Dijk was struggling with an illness last week in Dubai, but Jurgen Klopp confirmed that he had coached Monday and that the defender is likely to maintain his ever-present record in the championship this season.

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