Roy Keane has hailed Virgil van Dijk as the best defender in the world ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League showdown against Manchester United.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ live coverage on Sunday in a preview of the fixture at 1.20pm, Keane gushed about the Holland international and how he has all the attributes a centre-back needs.
Asked in a round-table chat if Van Dijk was the best on the planet, the Manchester United legend replied: “Yes, outstanding. I remember when they brought him, I thought, ‘that’s a lot of money’. Now, it looks really cheap.
“They key to him is he’s made the players around him better. That’s what great players do. He obviously looks comfortable on the ball, but he also looks like he wants to defend. He likes to defending, he has that bit of pride. He’s got the full package and is a big, big player for Liverpool.”
? – "Best in the league?"
? – "Without a doubt."
Roy Keane, Graeme Souness and @Carra23 discuss the impact of @VirgilvDijk at @LFC. ?
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OPINION
It wasn’t thought possible you could get an incredible bargain at £75million, the sum Liverpool shelled out in January to prise Van Dijk from Southampton. But the Merseyside giants appear to have pulled off that trick following the enormous impact made by the Holland international since his transfer in January of this year. Van Dijk has been consistently outstanding, and it will delight Liverpool fans that their team’s former foe Keane, not a pundit to liberally throw around gushing praise, rates him so highly. Is the Irishman right? Is Van Dijk the best on the planet? Yes, he is. Sure, he doesn’t have the bulging trophy cabinets of the likes of Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos and Samuel Umtiti, but the ice-cool Dutchman is a superior player to them. None of them can match Van Dijk’s perfect combination of aerial dominance, mobility, technical excellence and ability to spot and deal with danger. He is an ace communicator, too. What a player.