Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has called current centre-back Virgil van Dijk the best-ever Premier League defender in a three-word reply on Twitter.
Van Dijk has attracted major plaudits over the past year since his move to Anfield, with the Netherlands international now widely seen as one of the best players in the division.
In reply to a post from Goal wishing him a happy birthday and asking where he ranks among the best defenders in the division’s history, Carragher has now jokingly claimed that he is in second behind van Dijk.
https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/1089807079475417088
OPINION
Despite the jokey nature of Carragher’s post, it is clear that the Anfield legend rates his current successor extremely highly. Van Dijk has attracted some massive plaudits for his performances since joining the Reds, and rightly so. The 27-year-old is most certainly among the best centre-backs in the world at the moment, with the transformation in Liverpool’s defence since his arrival proving his quality. The Reds have gone from having the worst defence in the top-six to the best, with the club having conceded just 13 goals in 23 games so far in the Premier League. That being said, there are people already trying to seriously put van Dijk amongst the best-ever players to ever play in the division, and such talk is premature. The 27-year-old may well end up going on to be amongst that number, but he simply cannot be part of that conversation yet. Leading Liverpool to the Premier League title this season would certainly help his cause, though.
