Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk picked out Arsenal counterpart William Saliba when asked about centre-backs who’ve caught his eye, and the Dutchman also made an admission Gunners fans will love to read.
Van Dijk is widely regarded as the No 1 centre-back in the Premier League right now. However, some believe Saliba has taken that mantle or at the very least, will do so in the coming years.
The Liverpool ace recently appeared on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel, with the Manchester United legend conducting a one-to-one interview with the defender.
When asked which centre-backs have caught his eye over the past few seasons, Van Dijk responded: “Well obviously Saliba is making very good steps at the moment.
“Yeah he’s the first one I have in mind. He’s a solid one, in possession I think he’s doing a good job.”
Ferdinand interjected by asking if Van Dijk believes Saliba reminds him of himself. In response, the Dutchman declared Saliba at age 23 is a vastly superior player to the level of player Van Dijk was when he was 23.
Van Dijk replied: “Yeah, maybe, I think if I’m honest when I was that age I was nowhere near what he is today. That’s the beauty of football.”
What Van Dijk was doing aged 23
Aged 23, Van Dijk was earning rave reviews for his displays, though they came in a comparatively much weaker league.
Van Dijk was starring for Celtic in the 2014/15 season in which he remarkably bagged 10 goals in 58 matches across all competitions.
The centre-back was named in the PFA Scotland team of the year as Celtic cruised to an SPL and Scottish League Cup double.
On the back of his stellar stint in Glasgow, Van Dijk earned a move to Southampton before joining Liverpool two and a half years later. It is at Anfield where Van Dijk moved aged 26 that the defender truly achieved world class status.
Elsewhere, the arrival of Ruben Amorim at Manchester United is primed to spark a transfer battle with Liverpool.
GiveMeSport state Amorim ‘urgently’ wants a left wing-back signed and Rayan Ait-Nouri of Wolves is being targeted. Ait-Nouri is also on Liverpool’s radar having been identified as a long-term successor to Andy Robertson.
Los Blancos will intensify their efforts to lure the right-back to Spain come January 1 if he hasn’t signed a contract extension with Liverpool by that time.
Finally, the reason Liverpool swerved Amorim when appointing a successor to Jurgen Klopp has been revealed.
Per the i newspaper, Liverpool viewed Amorim’s insistence on playing with a back three a ‘deal-breaker.’ Man Utd have no such qualms about operating with that system.
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