TalkSPORT pundit Darren Bent believes there are very few defenders in the Premier League who deserve to be labelled “world-class” but it is a term that he would use for Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutchman has managed to rediscover the form he showed before he suffered a serious knee injury last season and Bent has paid tribute to the centre-back‘s quality:
“We throw around the world-class tag way too easy these days. How many world-class players are there in the Premier League? Van Dijk is a world-class defender, he is the best in the world.”
If you look at other centre-halves in England, you can definitely make the case for Chelsea’s Thiago Silva, and even perhaps Antonio Rudiger, due to the German’s form over the last eighteen months.
Manchester City’s Ruben Dias has also been playing very well since his arrival in England but, when it comes to consistency and quality, Bent is right to point out that it is hard to look past van Dijk.
The 30-year-old has helped the Reds keep 17 clean sheets this season, which is joint top with City for the most in the entire league.
