With the 35-year-old captain entering the final season of his contract he is more central to the club's plans than almost anyone else in the squad.
Van Dijk signed a two-year extension in April 2025 that now has just months left to run, a situation that would typically point towards an exit strategy. Instead, the make-up of Liverpool's defence has pushed the opposite way: Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet are both teenagers still to feature in the Premier League, Joe Gomez continues to be hampered by fitness problems, and Ronald Araujo is expected to arrive only as a stopgap loan from Barcelona.
For a third different head coach in as many seasons, Van Dijk's experience has become indispensable rather than expendable.
The numbers from last season explain the reliance on him. Van Dijk logged more league-and-cup minutes across Europe's five biggest domestic competitions than any other outfield player heading into the World Cup, and his tally climbed past 6,000 once his every-minute run through the Netherlands' campaign - which ended at the last-32 stage - was factored in: 69 appearances, 6,141 minutes, an average of 89 per game. For a defender who ruptured his ACL five years ago, it is a workload few would have predicted.
That schedule is precisely why Van Dijk asked Liverpool for extra time off this summer, sitting out the club's US tour and instead training individually at the AXA base before making his first pre-season appearance in Sunday's 3-2 loss to Monaco.
"I definitely asked for a good break because I felt like I needed it, not only physically but mentally as well. It was a very demanding year, so I had maybe three days more than Ryan, Flo and Alex. I didn't want to go to America because I didn't want to get jet lag."
His early impressions of working under Iraola, who replaced Arne Slot in the summer, were positive despite the change.
"It has been absolutely fine, we had a great conversation in the first week when it got announced, and the main thing for him to know is that I am here for him regardless. Nothing to take away from Arne, we had an amazing time together - this year we have a new manager with new ways of preparation, so we have to adapt."
Pressed on whether his age would eventually limit him, the response was blunt.
"Are you going to say I'm 35 years old and I can't do it? You have to do everything in your power to be ready to play again. I am also a late bloomer, so maybe... it is what it is. I feel fine, and that is the bare minimum for me anyway, so we keep going."
With Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah all having left Anfield this summer, Van Dijk - now starting his tenth season at the club - conceded the scale of the rebuild in front of Iraola.
"It definitely feels like a bit of a transition. It is down to everyone associated with Liverpool to make sure we are building something that will be successful for years to come."