Speaking on the BBC Match of the Day top 10 Podcast, Micah Richards has claimed that Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk could be the greatest centre-back to ever play in the Premier League.
This week, the BBC pundits were tasked with naming the 10 greatest centre-halves of the Premier League era, and it’s no surprise to hear that van Dijk was in the conversation.
The Dutchman didn’t rank at number one on either of Alan Shearer or Micah Richards’ lists, but they both had a lot of praise for him.
“He’s a game changer for Liverpool – he took them to where they wanted to go. Liverpool have missed him and his leadership this season because of his injury,” Shearer said.
“They have this pressing game and they have the confidence in him that they can leave him one v one, it’s not a problem because if they want to knock it over the top he can turn and be as quick as anyone.
“We’ve seen them this year not pressing as much as they could and should, because they don’t feel the confidence to do it without him.”
Richards then gave his view on van Dijk.
“He could be the greatest ever, maybe it’s getting a bit late now in terms of age and he’s had his injury but he had an instant impact – there’s no question marks over him, he can do everything. I can’t believe when he was at Celtic that Manchester City didn’t take a little punt on him.”
Shearer seems to really rate van Dijk, but Richards thinks he could be the greatest ever.
It’s a big claim, but it may be the right call.
Think about it, we’ve seen some fantastic defenders during the Premier League era, but none have ever been the complete package in quite the same way van Dijk is.
Fingers crossed the Dutchman is back to his best sooner rather than later.
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