Virgil van Dijk has been in brilliant form for Liverpool since he arrived from Premier League outfit Southampton in January.
If Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still fighting for top spot, who is the third best player in world football right now?
Perhaps it is Eden Hazard, who has started the season in electric form for Chelsea. Maybe one of the PSG duo Kylian Mbappe or Neymar, or perhaps Antoine Griezmann or Luka Modric, the recent winner of the FIFA ‘Best’ award.
If you were going to choose a player from Liverpool, the majority would so Mo Salah on the back of his remarkable 44-goal debut season at Anfield. Not Chris Sutton, however.
Speaking to the BBC, the outspoken pundit believes another member of Jurgen Klopp’s side is the closest rival to Messi and Ronaldo right now.
“It may not be fashionable to mention a defender when you have a conversation like this, but when you look at the difference Virgil van Dijk has made to Liverpool then you can see just how good he is,” Sutton said.
“There is not an attribute you need as a defender that he does not have – he is quick, strong, consistent and he does not seem to lose his concentration. He also has tremendous distribution when he is on the ball, and he reads the game so well. He has got the lot.
“There will be a clamour for Eden Hazard and other attacking players – and I understand that – but Van Dijk has shown the difference a brilliant defender can make to any side.”
Only three defenders have ever won the Ballon D’or, Franz Beckenbauer, Matthias Sammer and Fabio Cannavaro, so don’t expect Van Dijk to be in the running for football’s biggest individual prize in 2019.
But it is impossible to overlook the impact he has made at Anfield since Liverpool made him the world’s most expensive ever defender in January for £75 million.
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