Liverpool and their captain, Virgil van Dijk, have made an excellent start to the current Premier League season.
When Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool in the summer, there were many questions about how his replacement, Arne Slot, would handle the additional pressure.
When the German first took over at Anfield, the club was approaching nearly three decades without an English championship and had not tasted European glory since 2005.
However, with the arrival of players such as van Dijk, the team transformed, winning the Champions League in the Dutchman’s first full season and eventually becoming English champions.
As a result, van Dijk is considered as one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever centre-backs, having played a vital role in Klopp’s triumph.
It was merely a coincidence that as soon as the cool-headed defender entered the premises, the trophies began to arrive, including many domestic cups.
But Jason Cundy was fed up with the controversy surrounding the Liverpool skipper and what he had heard about him on Sky Sports.
The former Chelsea player jokingly referred to the broadcaster as ‘Scouse Sports’ because several ex-Liverpool players work as pundits on that platform and he believes they are biased towards the Merseyside club.
While Cundy agrees van Dijk is a ‘great’ player, he did not agree with Sky’s claim that he was ‘the best center defender the country has ever seen’, as he told talkSPORT (04/09/24 at 11:05 pm).
Liverpool fans will be outraged by Cundy’s statements since they believe van Dijk’s performances speak for themselves, as do the opinions of opposing players regarding him.
Premier League’s best-ever center-backs
“Van Dijk has been brilliant for Liverpool, I am not saying he is a bad player, at all,” according to Cundy. “But I hear people on Sky Sports and Scouse Sports raving about van Dijk being the best central defender the country has ever seen. To be honest, that is the biggest load of tripe. It’s extremely terrible.
“Nothing to do with nostalgia (likes for John Terry and Rio Ferdinand). I won’t say (when van Dijk retires, he is one of the greatest Premier League centre-backs of all time). I won’t, since I’m saying it right now.
“If you offered me the pair of them (to choose from), this season, then I am taking (Micky) van de Ven over (van Dijk).”
Virgil Van Dijk’s Liverpool contract
Liverpool defeated Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday, and van Dijk helped his team keep a clean sheet.
That’s three out of three for Slot, and it’s likely been a better start than he expected and wished for.
Van Dijk is a major reason for this, although he will be out of contract with the club next summer, raising questions over his future.
But he is not the only one; Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also uncertain about their futures.
