Paul Merson believes the return of Virgil van Dijk will make Liverpool a 'different animal' in the Premier League this season.
Van Dijk has been a colossal at the back for the Reds since joining from Southampton in January 2018.
Since his arrival at Anfield, Liverpool have won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and their first League Championship for 30 years.
The Dutchman has been sidelined since suffering an ACL injury in the Merseyside derby last October following a challenge by Jordan Pickford.
As a result of Van Dijk’s surgery, he was also forced to miss out on Euro 2020 this summer as he continued his rehabilitation.
However, having been included in Liverpool’s travelling party for their pre-season training camp in Austria, he now looks set to return for the start of the 2021/22 season.
Liverpool finished 17 points off top spot last season and were knocked out of Europe by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League
But a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace on the final day of the Premier League season saw the Reds secure third and Champions League football for this season.
At one stage, that appeared extremely unlikely for Jurgen Klopp's side, but a fine sequence of results, accompanied by Leicester City's downturn in form, saw the tide change.
And Merson believes that further signings and the return of Van Dijk this summer will result in the Reds being title contenders this season.
“Liverpool will be a different animal with Virgil Van Dijk back. He gets them pushed up and playing on the halfway line,” he wrote in the Daily Star.
“Last season was a wake-up call for them and they will be massive contenders this time around.
“I think they will sign players too, and the front three will be fresher. They will have a point to prove.”
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