It is a debate which has swirled relentlessly around the sizeable head of the Liverpool colossus thoughtout his time at the Premier League champions-in-waiting.
Exactly where does Virgil van Dijk rank in the pantheon of defensive greats?
If even the most anti-Liverpool observers have reluctantly agreed that Van Dijk should be mentioned next to the likes of John Terry, Nemanja Vidic and Vincent Kompany when discussing the finest defenders of the Premier League era, where does he sit alongside the very best centre-halves in football history?
Is the Dutch behemoth one of the ‘Mount Rushmore’ central defenders? Should his face be carved into rock alongside the likes of Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini?
Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand thinks Van Dijk remains the planet’s premiere defender. Michael Owen, a Ballon D’Or winner during his time at Liverpool, goes one step further.
Owen argues that Van Dijk is ‘the best centre-back of all time’.
And, while his 34th birthday is now only three months away, Arne Slot is convinced the former Southampton and Celtic star can emulate Thiago Silva and keep swatting aside opposition strikers until there are forty candles on his cake.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk labelled the best defender since Milan legend Paolo Maldini
Van Dijk ended the uncertainty over his Liverpool future this week. He signs a new two-year deal worth a staggering £400,000-a-week.
“His renewal is good news for Liverpool,” Bryan Roy, the former Netherlands international striker, tells Tuttomercatoweb.
Roy mentions Van Dijk alongside Milan greats Maldini, Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti.
Given that Maldini – the most recently active of the four – retired back in 2009, the one-time Ajax and Nottingham Forest frontman appears to suggest that Van Dijk is the finest defender to have played the game over the last 16 years.
“After Maldini, Costacurta, Baresi and Tassotti, there haven’t been many defenders stronger than others in football up to now,” Roy argues. “Since Virgil started playing with Slot, if possible he has improved even more.
“Because, with Arne, he has found an organised style of football in a way that makes things much easier for him in possession, to play forward. The same can be said for the national team, with [Ronald] Koeman. That’s why he has distanced himself from the other defenders.
“All he needs to win is the European Championship or the World Cup…”
Arne Slot delighted to tie Van Dijk down as he agrees to stay at Anfield
Van Dijk is yet to taste success on the international stage but he can win a second Premier League title this weekend. Provided Liverpool beat Leicester City – which shouldn’t be too much of an ask – and Arsenal slip up at Ipswich Town earlier on Sunday afternoon.
Bryan Roy, meanwhile, is not the only one highlighting Van Dijk’s often-underrated ability to act as the trigger for those rapid transitions from back to front.
Slot agrees that the Liverpool captain’s brilliant passing range helps him stand out above the rest of the elite.
“It’s difficult to describe. You know how important he is when you see him as a player. Everyone has complimented him over the years as a defender. [But] I mostly watch football and look at possession,” Slot said on Friday.
“He is so, so good at bringing it out from the back. The diagonal passes, the through ball, the leader he is… That is something I haven’t worked with before.”
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