If you were building a case for Virgil van Dijk being overworked, the numbers would make a fairly compelling opening statement. Five thousand, six hundred and sixty-one minutes across all competitions. Sixty-four starts for club and country. The only outfield player to play every single minute of Liverpool's Premier League season. By any measure, that is a colossal workload.

And yet John Barnes is not losing a wink of sleep over it.

The Liverpool legend was asked about the prospect of burnout for the Reds skipper, who also happens to be the player competing at this summer's World Cup who logged the most club minutes in the campaign just gone. Barnes' verdict was characteristically direct, and rooted in something worth paying attention to.

"Phil Neal played every game for six seasons at Liverpool," Barnes told Betfred. "Players nowadays take very good care of themselves, they're fit and centre-backs play longer than others. He doesn't run around the pitch like a midfielder, up and down. He's experienced and I'm not worried about Virgil playing every minute of every game. He'll be fine."

It is a fair point, and one that sometimes gets lost in the modern obsession with load management and rotation metrics. The demands on a central defender are fundamentally different to those on a pressing midfielder or a winger covering every blade of grass. Van Dijk reads the game. He positions himself. He does not spend ninety minutes sprinting channels or pressing high lines. The energy expenditure, while still significant, is simply not comparable.

The Phil Neal reference is a nice piece of context too. This club has form for producing players who simply turn up, week in, week out, season after season. Durability is not a new concept at Anfield.

Van Dijk turns 35 next month, which will inevitably keep the doubters talking. Age is the one factor even the most devoted supporter cannot fully argue away. But the evidence right now points to a man who is not just surviving the demands of elite football at this stage of his career, he is thriving in them.

Case in point: on Sunday night he scored and was named player of the match as the Netherlands drew 2-2 with Japan. That is not the performance of a man running on fumes. That is a centre-back at the World Cup, playing with authority and quality, delivering when his country needed him.

He is not alone in representing Liverpool at the tournament, either. The Netherlands squad also includes Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, meaning three Reds are flying the flag for the Dutch. It is a reminder of just how much of Liverpool's spine is currently on the biggest international stage of all, rather than recuperating on a sun lounger somewhere.

Next up for the Netherlands is a meeting with Sweden in Houston, Texas on Saturday, with Alexander Isak leading the line for the opposition. It is the kind of fixture that will test Van Dijk's leadership as much as his legs, and if Sunday night is anything to go by, he will relish every second of it.

Back at Anfield, Andoni Iraola will be watching all of this with great interest. Van Dijk is expected to be just as integral to the new manager's plans as he has been throughout his Liverpool career. The captaincy, the leadership, the sheer presence at the back — these are not things you simply replace or rotate around.

Barnes has been there. He knows what it takes to sustain yourself at the very top of the game. And when he says he is not worried, that carries genuine weight. This is not someone offering blind reassurance. It is someone who understands the demands of this level and looks at Van Dijk's profile and sees no red flags.

The stats tell one story. Barnes tells another. And right now, with Van Dijk scoring goals and winning man of the match awards at a World Cup, it is hard to argue with either of them.

How much more he has left in the tank heading into the new season remains to be seen, but on current evidence, those questioning his longevity might want to hold their nerve a little longer.