Garth Crooks has raved about Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk on BBC Sport following his performance against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at Anfield this past weekend.
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward has included Van Dijk in his Premier League Team of the Week for BBC Sport.
The BBC Sport pundit was hugely impressed by the former Celtic star’s performance, as Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw with 10-man Chelsea at Anfield in the Premier League.
Crooks wrote on BBC Sport: “If the shot that had Mendy frantically scrambling across his goal-line was anything to go by, then it looks like Van Dijk’s right knee has fully recovered from the injury he sustained against Everton last season.
“The Netherlands international is slowly but surely coming back to the boil. Not only is he commanding his own penalty area again, he is venturing forward more and becoming a threat in the opposition box. Defenders like Van Dijk come around once in a generation.”
Big claim about Virgil van Dijk
As you can gather from Crooks’ aforementioned comments, he is a big fan of Van Dijk.
Van Dijk is one of the best central defenders in the world and is at the top of his game at the age of 30.
The Netherlands international missed most of last season with a knee injury, but he has slotted seamlessly back into the Liverpool team now.
Van Dijk plays with finesse and has a certain calmness about him that not many defenders have.
With Manchester United signing Raphael Varane from Real Madrid this summer, it will be interesting to see how the two defenders compare in the Premier League this season.
Varane is one of the best centre-backs in the world who won La Liga and Champions League titles with Madrid.
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