Jamie Carragher says it's 'absolute nonsense' that Virgil van Dijk will fix Liverpool's defence on his own

Van Dijk was a fault for Swansea City's winner against Liverpool on Monday night

Van Dijk was at fault for Swansea's goal (Getty)

Jamie Carragher has insisted it is “absolute nonsense” that Virgil van Dijk will completely fix Liverpool’s flailing defence after another error led to them losing away to bottom-of-the-league Swansea City on Monday night.

Van Dijk made his Premier League debut for the Reds in South Wales but at fault for the only goal of the game after he failed to clear Swansea’s corner which led to Alfie Mawson’s first-half strike.

The Dutchman, who has so far failed to recapture his form of last season, signed for a world-record fee for a defender of £75m but Carragher was quick to criticise Van Dijk for his role in the goal.

“It's poor from Virgil van Dijk,” he said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. “In some ways, he shouldn't have gone for it. It's not really his header. Maybe he's trying to do too much in some ways.

“You see Van Dijk, he's actually heading it down because it hasn't come far enough for him really.

“This thing about Van Dijk is going to come in and fix this problem, it is absolute nonsense. That one player comes in and fixes the whole problem, he's not that good.

“If we were playing against towering defenders like Tony Adams and Jaap Stam and you were taking a set piece, you'd say ‘keep it away from him’ or take the man away. The idea that Van Dijk is going to head everything away is just a joke. It's not happening.”