Jurgen Klopp has dismissed claims Virgil van Dijk needs to lose weight.
Jamie Carragher suggested the £75 million defender could ‘lose a bit of weight’ after failing to build a regular run of games for his new employers.
Van Dijk has featured in three of the Reds’ last five games since his arrival at the beginning of January, missing out on Tuesday’s win over Huddersfield Town.
But Klopp insists Anfield legend Carragher’s assertion on the Holland international is not ringing any alarm bells in his own view of the player.
He said: “I’m sure Jamie needs to lose a little bit of weight, but I know that for Virgil it’s not the case.
“I’m not sure about the English word for it but he’s a big and tall lad. That’s how it is.
“We have the best nutritioning department and nobody came to me and said to me that we need to work with him.
“Being fit, first of all, needs you to have more muscle than anything else.
“It’s not an issue. Not at all.”
The Liverpool manager also believes that Van Dijk’s best qualities will not shine through until the start of next season as he acclimatises to life with his new club.
“We all will see Virgil van Dijk at his best after the summer,” added Klopp.
“But we don’t have the time to wait until then – why should we? He can bring a lot of things in already and that’s good.
“It’s quite difficult. Our defending is different to Southampton, for example, and Holland, if you want, so that’s why it makes more sense that you get used to it.”