‘He’s overrated’: TalkSPORT pundit says one Liverpool player is nowhere near as good as people think

TalkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy has labelled Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk as an ‘overrated’ defender after yesterday’s defeat to Bournemouth. 

Jurgen Klopp’s men suffered a 1-0 defeat against the Cherries on Saturday after a lacklustre display on the south coast. 

The Reds were hoping to build on a positive run of form in the Premier League over the past month, as well as thrashing their rivals Manchester United 7-0 last weekend. 

But after a promising opening 15 minutes at the Vitality Stadium, Liverpool flattered to deceive and Philip Billing’s effort just before the half hour mark proved to be the difference between the sides. 

Of course, Mohamed Salah missed an opportunity to level things up from the penalty spot in the second-half. But Liverpool’s defending for Bournemouth’s goal was questionable to say the least. 

Van Dijk was beaten by Dango Ouattara far too easily down the right-hand side, while Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to pick up Billing in the box. 

Now, Cundy has ripped into Van Dijk for his displays for Liverpool this season and says the Dutchman is overrated by the media. 

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

Cundy says Van Dijk is ‘overrated’ 

Speaking on TalkSPORT, Cundy feels Van Dijk is far too error prone to be put in the same category as the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. 

“I think he’s overrated, personally. I think there’s a lot of media loving of what Van Dijk has done. No doubt he’s a brilliant centre half, [but] he makes too many mistakes,” he said. 

“Mistakes that I think go unnoticed. There was a goal they conceded when they went out a couple of seasons ago during COVID in the Champions League. And again, he has this languid style of running, he seems to try to buy time but doesn’t react.” 

He added: “That is poor centre half play [when Van Dijk was outmuscled by Dominic Solanke] even though he’s on the other side. 

“I think he’s had a good 18 months and I know the injury has had an impact. But that goal today was not about the injury, that’s about his lack of, I can’t quite put my finger on it because once he [Ouattara] gets away from him inside, he seems to stop and misjudge the situation.”

The TalkSPORT pundit also claimed that the Liverpool star is ‘nowhere near’ the level of Chelsea legend John Terry and Manchester United hero Rio Ferdinand. 

Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images

Van Dijk has been nowhere near his best this season, but he has struggled since returning from the serious injury he picked up against Everton back in October 2020. 

The 31-year-old was undoubtedly the best defender in the Premier League for a few years and it’s a bit harsh of Cundy to label him as overrated. 

The Liverpool star could yet get back to his best after he was also ruled out with a hamstring injury at the end of January. 

Klopp’s men are simply not playing at the level they were consistently producing up until this season and while it’s easy to criticise their star players, it’s down to a lot more than the likes of Van Dijk. 

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