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Former Southampton striker Matt Le Tissier has suggested that only Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld is a better Premier League defender than Virgil van Dijk.

Le Tissier said on Sky Sports that Van Dijk has 'captaincy potential' but he needs to become more consistent and more concentrated on the field if he is going to achieve it.

"He has captaincy potential, but there's also part of him which just switches off when it is a bit too easy, which if he's going to be a captain he has to eradicate from his game," Le Tissier said.

"There's definitely more to come from him. Before his injury he was right up there with the best centre backs in the Premier League, although Toby Alderweireld is perhaps a fraction better all-round defender because of that consistency."

The Sky Sports pundit believes Van Dijk's £75m transfer from Southampton to Liverpool was a good move for both clubs, although he has warned Klopp that the Dutch defender cannot solve Liverpool's defensive problems on his own.

"I think the deal suits both parties as Liverpool desperately needed a defender and we [Southampton] got a world-record fee for a defender," said Le Tissier. "In terms of the price I think it is pretty good business.

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"Van Dijk won't be a one-man fix for their defensive errors alone and [Dejan] Lovren has escaped a bit of criticism for his error which led to Kane's first penalty because of the controversy.

"I think if Liverpool have realistic ambitions of the title then I think they need a better centre-back partner and goalkeeper. Joe Gomez has the potential to be a top defender but Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan don't look up to it."