The Holland international joined Liverpool for a club-record fee worth £75million last month and has been a mainstay in the centre of the Reds’ back line ever since.
Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren have taken turns in partnering Van Dijk in Jurgen Klopp’s defence.
But all eyes have been on how Van Dijk would live up to his mammoth price-tag, the most expensive defender in history.
He hit the ground running and became an instant fan favourite among Liverpool supporters with a late winner against Everton in the FA Cup third round.
And he looked calm and collected in the 2-0 win over Southampton 11 days ago, but it was against Porto, on his Champions League debut for Liverpool, where he impressed Aldridge the most.
“I was urging my old club to sign Van Dijk for a year before they finally got him,” Aldridge told The Herald.
“As I sat in the stands while Jurgen Klopp’s side demolished FC Porto 5-0 in the Champions League last week, a number of missing ingredients have been injected into this team with the signing of this one player.
“Liverpool have lacked leaders in key areas for far too long and while the attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane got all the credit after the thumping win in Portugal that all but booked a Champions League quarter-final spot, Van Dijk (along with Jordan Henderson and James Milner) is already established as a vocal presence.
“It is not easy for a player to join a big club like Liverpool and instantly adapt to what is expected of him, but I have been so impressed by Van Dijk’s demeanour on and off the field.
“He has a nice arrogance about him, an authority Liverpool so badly needed and the centre-backs he has played alongside have looked better standing next to him.”
