Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has claimed that current Reds defender Virgil van Dijk can become one of the best players in the club’s history.
The former England international has heaped praise on the Dutchman, claiming that winning silverware will see the 27-year-old join the pantheon of Liverpool defensive legends.
“Since his goalscoring debut in the Merseyside derby last January he has proven one of the most instantly successful Anfield recruits of the last 30 years,” he wrote in his Telegraph column. “We will be talking about Van Dijk as we do John Barnes, Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness – Liverpool legends who from the moment they put on the shirt imposed themselves on the team and club to elevate everyone else.
“Playing centre-half for Liverpool brings inevitable comparisons with some of the best ever – Ron Yeats, Emlyn Hughes, Phil Thompson, Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen. Van Dijk can even surpass some of those names to ensure future generations talk about him in the same glowing terms. He will find himself alongside Hansen in an all-time Liverpool XI. I stress, he has to win the Premier League or Champions League at the club to achieve that.”
OPINION
This is the highest of praise from someone who knows a thing or two about manning the Liverpool defence. Carragher modestly left himself out when mentioning the greatest defenders in club history, but there is no doubt that he is among the finest to wear the Reds’ shirt. So for him to praise Van Dijk in such a way is quite something. It tells you everything you need to know about the effect the Dutchman has had at Anfield in less than a year that someone like Carragher is already mentioning his name in the same sentence as the likes of Hansen, Hughes and Lawrenson. Obviously winning silverware is something that will elevate the former Southampton man’s standing amongst the Reds’ greats, and he does need to do that, but he is certainly well on his way. He has transformed this Liverpool team and is one of the most important signings the club has made in decades. Whether he will go on to join Hansen in an all-time Liverpool XI or not remains to be seen, but he’s certainly on the right track.
