Virgil van Dijk is up there with the greatest centre-backs in history, according to former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan.
Van Dijk will sadly miss most of, if not all of, the season, having ruptured his cruciate ligament in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Everton.
It is a monumental blow to Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes, given the unrivalled influence of the Dutchman at Anfield.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Jordan suggested that he hadn’t seen a better centre-back, even citing Paolo Maldini as a comparison, as well as Rio Ferdinand:
👍 "When you look at Van Dijk, it's difficult to argue that he isn't one of the best central defenders we've seen."
❌ "Would Ferdinand have gone into #LFC and done what Van Dijk has done? I'm not sure."@SJOpinion10 says Virgil Van Dijk is one of the best centre-backs. 🔴 pic.twitter.com/5iwKaWkKJc
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 19, 2020
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Painful though it may be to hear it, Jordan’s words only further highlight the magnitude of Van Dijk’s absence.
He has been an absolute colossus for Liverpool since joining in January 2018, immediately steering the Reds to a Champions League final within four months of arriving, before winning the competition the following year, then the Premier League.
This is now going to be one of the biggest tests of Jurgen Klopp’s reign as Reds boss, as he looks to fill an enormous Van Dijk-shaped void. Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Fabinho are really going to have to step up, and say relatively injury-free.
I personally haven’t seen a better centre-back in my time watching football – nobody has ever possessed his combination of blistering pace, brute strength, impeccable positional sense, aerial dominance and brilliance on the ball.
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