Virgil van Dijk is one of the best centre-backs the Premier League has ever seen.
The Dutchman has won it all with Liverpool, and if it weren’t for Lionel Messi, he would’ve been the first defender to win a Ballon d’Or since Fabio Cannavaro.
Van Dijk is an incredible talent, and while he’s been a bit of a late bloomer in the Premier League, some spotted his ability from day one.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Scott Brown has been discussing Van Dijk and his time with the centre-back at Celtic, and he says that he was absolutely incredible even back then.
Photo by ANP via Getty ImagesVan Dijk was incredible
Brown shared what it was like to play with Van Dijk.
“The best centre-half I’ve played with. Up in Scotland he played at 70% and he cruised it. It was ridiculous. We just left him one on one at the back and it was amazing. He would beat anyone to the ball. He’s stronger than them, he’s brilliant on the ball, he’d hit free-kicks,. You can see why he’s probably the best centre-half in the Premier League, nobody runs him, nobody beats him one vs one, he’s got everything you want from a centre-back,” Brown said.
Head and shoulders above
It’s impressive enough watching Van Dijk dominate in the Premier League every week, but could you imagine what it was like when he was playing in Scotland?
With all due respect, the Scottish sides don’t have the depth of talent that the Premier League does, and Van Dijk will have easily made minced meat of any striker he came up against north of the border.
Van Dijk is one of the most dominant defenders we have ever had the privilege of watching, and, as Brown says, it’s almost ridiculous how good he is when he’s on his game.
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