'Tore him apart' - Ex-Premier League striker settles Liverpool & Man Utd debate with brutal response

Former Blackpool forward Gary Taylor-Fletcher has seemingly put a brutal end to the debate surrounding Virgil van Dijk's Premier League legacy.

Taylor-Fletcher, who managed five goals and seven assists in 32 Premier League games, enjoyed one sole season in the top-flight during the 2010/11 season following a fairy tale spell with the club.

During that time, he netted against Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal but the Seasiders were promptly relegated. Despite that, the native-Liverpudlian played against some of the very best defenders in PL history, coming up against the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

All three have been widely regarded as three of the best centre-backs in the competition's history, with other names such as Tony Adams, Vincent Kompany, Jaap Stam, Ricardo Carvalho and Sol Campbell also being mentioned. These days, Van Dijk holds the crown as the best in that position but fans, ex-players, journalists and pundits have all debated who they believe to be the best, and Van Dijk has certainly arrived in those conversations in recent years.

Taylor-Fletcher gave his stamp of approval for the Dutchman and claimed Vidic wasn't on the level of the other three - making the bold claim that Martin Škrtel was as good as the Serbian. He took to X to give his response to a post from a Man United fan which was viewed by nearly 3m followers stating that Vidic faced far superior strikers than Van Dijk has.

'Yeah an I tore him apart twice for BlackpoolFC in 2010/11 season. He was no where near levels of Ferdinand, Terry & VVD. He was the same level as skrtel. Solid good player. Not elite'.

LiverpoolWorld verdict

Vidic won 15 trophies across his time at United, but his best achievement was being only one of only four players to win the Premier League Player of the Season award twice, alongside Thierry Henry, Kevin De Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo. On the other hand, Van Dijk has more World XI appearances and finished second in the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best Men's Player to Lionel Messi but has less major honours in total.

Both are within the top echelon of centre-backs in Premier League history, displaying world-class defensive ability and both have played key roles in Premier League and Champions League successes. Granted, Vidic was more of a bruiser and battler while Van Dijk has a more well-rounded game given his quality of passing and aerial ability in the opposition box. Two of the very best, for sure.