‘He’s got everything’ - Man City star picks Liverpool defender as best in the league

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne was quick to name Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk as the best defender in the Premier League as part of a video for Sky Sports.

Van Dijk has been widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in world football over the past five years and he has no doubt transformed the fortunes of Liverpool since joining in January 2018.

In terms of the video, De Bruyne is currently out of action and is likely to miss up to four months of action but he was able to partake in a video for Sky Sports’ Youtube Channel, where he asked to rank players from different positions.

On offer in defence was Chelsea’s Thiago Silva and Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez and De Bruyne, when asked to rank the trio from first to third, instantly put the Liverpool skipper in one, Silva at two and Martinez in third.

“He’s got everything.” The City midfielder revealed after being asked to explain his order. “Obviously I know him well but he’s got right foot, left foot, speed, height.

“He’s a leader. Thiago [Silva] is also amazing, but I just think that Virgil has little bit more.”

The two players are friends off the pitch, having shared snaps of each other on holiday together during the summer break with their families. However, on the pitch, City and Liverpool have produced some of the best football we’ve seen across the last decade as the two clubs have gone head-to-head over the years.

Van Dijk’s form was called into question last season, as the Reds failed to mount a challenge for any silverware and failed to qualify for the Champions League since 2016.

But his pedigree over his prime years cannot be called into question; he finished second to Lionel Messi in the Balon d’Or in 2019 and has made the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions and the World XI three times.

Liverpool’s defence was certainly below par last season, as they conceded 47 goals in the league - their lowest since Klopp’s first season in charge.

Since then, he’s taken on the captaincy and bounced back and even at 32, he’s still an intimidating figure for opposition defences.

However, he won’t be at the club forever and they will need to source out a long-term replacement, but filling his shoes is certainly by no means an easy task when that day comes.