Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has heaped praise on Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk after his Player of the Year nomination.
The Dutch international has enjoyed a tremendous season for Jurgen Klopp’s team, leading them to the brink of potential Premier League and Champions League triumphs.
Nicholas has been very impressed: “He is a class act. The real Rolls Royce of defending,” he told Sky Sports. “He makes 50-60 yard passes effortlessly and his adjustment in dangerous situations is brilliant, which is why I can see the reason people are raving about his defending. He has become a leader within the group.
“When I watched him at Celtic I thought he was far too good for the league. He was moving well at Southampton in terms of recruitment and direction on how to play with style and skill – he reminds me of Alan Hansen.”
OPINION
Being compared to Hansen is pretty much the highest compliment a Liverpool centre back can receive. The Scotsman is a legend at Anfield and rightfully so, so for Van Dijk to be mentioned in the same breath as him is extremely high praise. However, he deserves it for how well he has done since arriving at Liverpool. He has truly become a world class defender and arguably the finest at his position in world football. As Nicholas says, he’s a Rolls Royce type of player. He leads by example and he makes everything look so easy. There’s a reason that we don’t often see him making last ditch tackles, it’s because he’s always in the right position so he doesn’t need to. His passing and his technical ability is also top drawer. He can ping balls all over the pitch and start attacks off for Klopp’s team. He really does tick every box you could want in a defender and so he must be in with an extremely good shout of winning the Player of the Year award.
