Virgil Van Dijk has exclusively revealed the techniques behind his world class passing skills in a new video for LFC International Academy.

The Reds defender spent time at Melwood with Steven Gillespie, LFC IA Programme Manager, to record a video which gives young players and fans a valuable insight in to how he honed his distribution skills and what he looks for when picking out those remarkable passes.

Van Dijk is recognised as one of the best defenders in the world today and his passing is certainly one of his key strengths. It’s something he has always been keen to practise.

Speaking about his technique, Virgil said: “I've always worked on it.

“When I was younger, I used to put so much power behind it, thinking that you had to strike the ball with a lot of power.

“It's more about technique and whether you hit it cleanly. It's a bit like golf - you don't have to hit it too hard to get the ball to travel far. You need to practise the technique.

“When I was younger, I definitely tried to hit it [the ball] out wide, especially from my position. I try to hit the right winger or the left winger and try to put the ball in behind the defence.

The video is the latest in our series of LFC IA Coaching Clinics which have previously featured the likes of Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson.

You can watch the video below or head over to the official LFC International Academy YouTube channel for more Coaching Clinic videos and great content.