Darren Bent has claimed that Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger is ‘not even in the same bracket’ as Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, as he told talkSPORT (05/10/21 at 7:30 am).
talkSPORT host Adrian Durham boldly claimed that Rudiger is the best defender in the Premier League, but Bent was having none of it and suggested that the Chelsea man isn’t even the best centre-back at his own club.
For a number of years now, Van Dijk has stood tall ahead of a number of defenders, not just in the Premier League, but in Europe.
The Dutchman plays the game like he is sat on his couch with a Playstation controller in hand.
But Bent made it clear, despite claims that Rudiger is better, the Liverpool star still holds that top crown.
“Er, no, I don’t agree with that,” said Bent. “Antonio Rudiger, he has been very, very good for Chelsea.
“But still, he’s not even the same bracket as Virgil van Dijk. He is the best centre-back in this country and there is an argument that he is the best on the planet.
“Even right now, Virgil, I am yet to see him break sweat. Bernardo Silva ran past him on Sunday like he wasn’t there.
“But I am still taking Van Dijk. He still holds that Liverpool backline together, as I said, Rudiger has been superb for Chelsea. I don’t know if he is even better than Thiago Silva because he is the real orchestrator of the backline.”
Van Dijk has only returned from a long-term injury, so he is yet to hit full throttle and really get his engine going.
But then again, he doesn’t really put his foot down on the pedal on most days, so him being in first gear is the norm.
And whilst Rudiger is a top-class performer and did very well to help Chelsea win the European Cup last season, he hasn’t been doing it as constantly as the Liverpool man.
If the Germany international is still pushing those very top heights in a few years time then there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be spoken about more.
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