Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has heaped praise on Reds centre back Virgil van Dijk, who he considers to be one of the five best players in the Premier League.
The Netherlands captain has enjoyed a phenomenal Player of the Season campaign with Jurgen Klopp’s team, and Carragher is clearly a big fan.
“When you talk about the best players in the league, you automatically go for the attacking players,” he told Sky Sports. “But Van Dijk is in the top five players in the Premier League – not just defenders, players.
“Now, that might sound obvious as he got player of the year this season but year on year, if you said to me ‘name the best players’, I’d always put him in along with Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and so on.
“There might be someone who has a better season than some of those players one season but, consistently, they’re the best – and Van Dijk will always be in that list.”
OPINION
What Carragher says is pretty spot on, here, you have to say. Van Dijk is now at the stage where he has to be considered the finest defender in the world and undoubtedly one of the top five best players in the Premier League. Carragher’s right with the others he names as well. Hazard is probably the top flight’s best, although it looks like he won’t be plying his trade in England for much longer. Then you’ve got De Bruyne, Kane, Aguero and Salah who have to be up there, with Van Dijk completing the top five. That’s pretty fair. Silva has been a phenomenal player, but probably isn’t quite good enough anymore to be considered one of the very best in the division. With Hazard all but in Madrid, the above top five seems like a pretty good selection. Van Dijk has come on leaps and bounds since joining the Reds and is undoubtedly their most important player. Plus, he’s only going to get better in the years to come.
