BBC Sport pundits Jermaine Jenas, Steve Morison and Glen Johnson have heaped praise on Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutch international has produced one of the finest seasons in recent memory at the heart of the Reds defence, and the BBC trio have been very impressed with him.
“You look at Van Dijk and you’re like: I’m just going to stay away from him,” Morison told BBC Radio 5 Live, as seen in a clip on the broadcaster’s official Twitter account.
“You watch him running with [Adama] Traore the other week. Geezer’s the fastest geezer on the planet and he’s just gone… not only run him but put him on the deck and just give it back to the goalie.”
Jenas added: “I was watching the game the other day, I was watching the Merseyside derby. I was watching [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin, he’s sharp, he’s good in the air… but he just didn’t get anywhere near it against him [Van Dijk]. He’s got every attribute that you can possibly think of.”
Johnson, too, is a fan: “Even when’s cleaning up, he does everything so easy and smooth and relaxed that it’s like you almost need to sacrifice a striker to mark him! I don’t know what else you can do.”
What is a striker thinking when he sees Virgil Van Dijk?
"STAY AWAY FROM HIM"
Steve Morison and Glen Johnson say that's the only thing you can do.
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? https://t.co/0kUniWPgQm#lfc #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/GUXBUMtDlL— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) March 15, 2019
OPINION
What more can be said about Van Dijk, really? He is far and away the best defender in world football at this moment in time, it’s not even close. When you think about the players who could have been considered among the best defenders in the world in previous years, people like Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves or Georgio Chiellini, they’re simply not playing at the level of Van Dijk. Even guys like Mats Hummels and Raphael Varane can’t compete with what he’s doing. Like Morison says, the best thing to do as an oppositions striker might be just to stay away from him, go and play on Joel Matip and see if you can get any joy from him. There’s just not much chance that you’re going to enjoy any sort of success when you’re up against Van Dijk because he can do everything. He’s quick, he’s powerful, he’s dominant in the air, he’s terrific on the ball. He has no discernible weaknesses and that’s the scary thing for the opposition.
