Former Republic of Ireland international Tony Cascarino has claimed that Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte is the equal of Liverpool ace Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutchman has had a transformative effect since joining the Reds in January 2018, but Cascarino believes Laporte has had a similar impact at the Etihad Stadium.
“Laporte getting injured was massive to City,” he said on talkSPORT. “That really hurt Manchester City a lot, because he’s done what Van Dijk’s done for Liverpool.
“He really made that back four solid. He was a threat aerially, offensively with set pieces. They’ve got to keep that gap as 8 points, because I can only see Liverpool extending it in the months to come.”
“Laporte getting injured hurt Man City a lot. He’s done for City what Van Dijk did for #LFC” ?
“I don’t see #MCFC getting closer. City aren’t as good a side
this season.”Tony Cascarino doesn’t think City are as strong as last season…
Do you agree with him? ? pic.twitter.com/uBIAhE8ihO
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 12, 2019
OPINION
There’s no doubt that both these players have been absolutely massive for their clubs. Van Dijk has stolen all the headlines with his maturation into the world’s finest defender while in Liverpool red, but Laporte is up there as one of the finest stoppers in the world, as well. The Frenchman is undoubtedly the second best centre back in the Premier League, and there aren’t too many centre halves in Europe who you could consider better than the Athletic Bilbao man. The same goes for Van Dijk: there’s probably no defender in the world who is as good as the imperious Dutchman. The problem for City is that their world class centre back is currently out injured in the midst of a heated title race, whereas Liverpool’s is starring at the heart of the Reds’ backline. So Cascarino is right, Laporte’s loss has been absolutely devastating for Pep Guardiola’s men.
