Virgil van Dijk Makes PFA Team of the Year

Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images

The Dutch center-back was the Reds’ only representative this time round.

With the Premier League season officially underway, most fans are focused on what their teams have shown on opening day, and how that projects potential outcomes for the year, whether the goal is to avoid relegation, collect trophies or make a brave challenge to bring the UEFA Conference League back to Old Trafford. Eyes firmly on the immediate future, is what I’m saying.

As such, the Professional Footballers’ Association running their awards ceremony for last year one fixture into the current season feels a little out of step, but overloaded fixture lists and international tournaments conspire to make a timely celebration of the players a difficult thing to manage, apparently.

Following a third place finish as their season petered out in the final stretch, Liverpool weren’t expected to dominate the awards like they have some years in the past, but the Reds nonetheless managed one representative in the PFA Team of the Year, as Virgil van Dijk joined William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Kyle Walker to form the 2023/24 backline.

Predictably, the XI was filled with Arsenal and Manchester City players, who filled five and four slots, respectively, while Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins joined van Dijk as the outlier participants.

It’s nice to celebrate the Dutchman — and how he’s single-handedly bringing back the 1990s NBA draft suits — instead of talking about his expiring contract, and hopefully the captain can help the team build on their opening day win over Ipswich to make new manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge one to remember.