It is still early days in Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool tenure, but the Spaniard’s start to life in Merseyside has been hit and miss.

The Reds are yet to taste defeat under Iraola, which is a huge positive, but they already find themselves six points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Performances on the pitch have been inconsistent too and, although the coach seems to have fixed some of the defensive frailties of last season, issues still remain.

Things will likely improve as Iraola has more time with the team though, and consistency will come eventually, but keeping Liverpool’s key players healthy will be vital.

One of the most important figures at Anfield over the last decade has been Virgil van Dijk and nothing has changed this season.

The Dutchman is one of the divisions leading defenders and has played every minute of Liverpool’s Premier League campaign so far, a record he managed to maintain for the entirety of last season.

The Dutchman is 35-years-old however, and is coming off the back of a 4,951 minute campaign. It is unrealistic to expect the same again this season.

Iraola will be well aware of this though, and according to a new report from Football Insider is already taking steps to protect his defensive colossus.