Tottenham Hotspur star Malachi Walcott names Virgil van Dijk as favourite player in Q&A

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Tottenham Hotspur U23s defender Malachi Walcott has named Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk as his favourite player following a Q&A on Instagram.

Walcott, 17, is one of the Lilywhite’s highest-rated young talents since making the leap from the U18s to Wayne Burnett’s U23s earlier this season.

Jose Mourinho has recognised the England U18s international’s undeniable talent after adding Walcott into Tottenham’s senior Champions League squad.

The teenager has clocked up 19 appearances across the academy this season and even played 90 minutes during Spurs’ EFL Trophy triumph against Colchester United back in August.

Despite training and learning under the tutelage of seasoned veterans such as Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, Walcott has chosen UEFA Player of the Year Van Dijk as his favourite player.

Van Dijk, 28, is currently on course to claim his first Premier League title with Liverpool following on from the Dutchman’s triumph in the Champions League last season after the Reds triumphed over Walcott’s Spurs 2-0 in Madrid.

Heavily touted as one of the candidates to retain the PFA Player of the Year award he won last season, Van Dijk – who earns £180,000-a-week according to Spotrac – has maintained the same irresistible standards of last season that saw the former Southampton star dominate the English top-flight’s individual awards.

Every week, no matter who the opposition, the Ballon d’Or runner-up delivers an eight or 9/10 performance. Quite surprisingly, following on from a season that saw the Netherlands captain dominate the domestic individual awards at a canter, there has been no discernible spike in Van Dijk’s Premier League statistics this season as well.

According to stats provided from The Times, Van Dijk is making one pass every minute just as he was in 2018-19, his passing accuracy is more or less still levels above everyone else in the league: 89 per cent now compared 90 per cent last season.

Despite making fewer tackles a game, the Ballon d’Or runner-up has more interceptions, and his aerial duel success is the same 75 per cent. He has already matched last season’s league goal tally of four with 11 matches still to play in the PL.