Virgil van Dijk makes 'pretty obvious' claim as Mohamed Salah sent transfer message

Virgil van Dijk was delighted to see Liverpool progress in the FA Cup on Saturday, speaking warmly about the impressive Milos Kerkez and Mohamed Salah at the final whistle

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have been together at Liverpool for a long time(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images)

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has praised Milos Kerkez's development since a $54 million (£40 million) transfer move from Bournemouth in the summer.

Kerkez was criticized on some quarters early on in his Liverpool career but has really come into his own in the last few weeks, clearly looking more settled and adapted to his role. He was one of a number of good performers this weekend as the Reds knocked Brighton out of the FA Cup.

"I think it is pretty clear you definitely see an improvement," Van Dijk told reporters at Anfield. "He is still so young and is getting used to being a Liverpool player.

"It is a lot more than kicking a ball on the pitch, especially when the team has been inconsistent it's not easy to play your best games. But with the help of Robbo (Andy Robertson) and the rest of the team and his own development, I think he is making big progress.

"What I see is there is a lot to come for him to learn and improve, but that's a good thing. He just has to keep going. He has a lot of energy. When we were young, we were always full of energy. He is eager to learn."

Though things did not click immediately for Kerkez, Van Dijk feels that his relationship down the left side of the Liverpool defense is coming along nicely — something that was always going to take a little bit of time.

"Of course I had chats because on the pitch we need each other, whether it is positioning or even today he presses as a full-back and I have to cover," Van Dijk said.

Milos Kerkez has revealed that patience inside Liverpool has led to his upturn in form

"It's a collaboration that you obviously have to understand each other. Me and Robbo had that for so many years and you still see that in our game and that is something that has to develop over games.

"Conversations are happening 100 percent behind the scenes and in games, like with the rest of the team, to try to be the best team and players on the pitch.

"The price tag you can't do anything about. When I joined the club it was also like that; £75 million was a lot of money, but what can I do about it? For him, it is to just keep improving and the improvement you can see is pretty obvious.

"But I think he can improve even more but that comes with experience, dealing with everything which comes his way on and off the pitch. He is still so young, he has to keep going."

On Saturday, Kerkez was not the only to impress. Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai, who both scored, who excellent too, as was Mohamed Salah, who put in his best overall performance for months.

"I think Mo is still so important for us," Van Dijk continued. "Last week, he had an assist again and broke another record.

"He is still the leader and important for me personally, as a captain, to have around and to have him on the pitch and his presence benefits the team. He also has to just keep going.

Mohamed Salah scored again on Saturday(Image: Getty Images)

"He always gives the team more than goals. There's obviously a lot of focus on his goals at the moment and that's also part of his life because he puts the standards so extremely high when he doesn't score as much he gets criticized.

"He has to stay calm and try to be important with everything he still can do. There is so much still he is important for us on and off the pitch."

It feels like a long time ago now that Salah exploded in the mixed zone at Elland Road, claiming that the Reds had "thrown him under the bus".

"The situation is what it is," Van Dijk said. "Mo is a Liverpool player and a very important Liverpool player over all those years set the bar extremely high.

"I can only say for us nothing has changed, we all want him to score and we all want us to do well as a team but it's not been an easy season and the only thing we can he can do is keep going and try to be important.

"I think he is still important and there is a lot more than just to be out there trying to score goals. There are so many things people don't see that are important to try to become a successful team.

"Let's see for the rest of the season how important he still is and can be and the rest of the team will hopefully be successful. But there is still a long way to go."

Inevitably, there will be links with an exit for Salah. Saudi Pro League interest remains and any encouragement for clubs in the Middle East would likely be acted upon.

"The full focus is on trying to make this season a success first," Van Dijk insisted. "We will see then how the season ends and then you never know what happens because it's football.

"I always want Mo to stay because I'm a good friend of his and we've been through the highs and not-so-highs — I don't want to call them lows — together for so many years. The same as me, he's got one more year, so we will see."