Confirmed: Virgil van Dijk is the Premier League’s best

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is now officially the Premier League’s best defender.

We all knew that van Dijk was a class act, but this latest statistic from Coral simply confirms it. The Reds have got one of the greatest centre backs playing in England, maybe ever.

There were eyebrows raised when the club parted with all that cash to sign VVD from Southampton last January, but the Dutch colossus has more than repaid that money.

Not only has van Dijk improved those around him, but he’s also continued to be a massive thorn in the side of Premier League attacks.

And that’s because he’s as made more tackles without being dribbled past in the Premier League this season than any other player.

To win the league a team must have a solid defence. It’s what undid Brendan Rodgers’ title race but it’s the thing that could help Liverpool finally reach that special triumph.

But what’s so good about van Dijk is that he barely misses a game. Despite his defensive partners going down left, right and centre the Dutch skipper keeps on keeping on – much to the relief of Jurgen Klopp and everyone who follows the team.

And Liverpool will need every ounce of his skill if they are to win the Premier League this season, especially in light of how Manchester City responded to their surprise loss against Newcastle United.

Van Dijk isn’t just a lump at the back though, he’s got excellent positional awareness and isn’t afraid to burst forward in support of a counter-attacker when the time is right.

He did that against Bournemouth and would have scored if it wasn’t for Roberto Firmino being a bit greedy and taking a shot on instead of playing a simple sideways ball to van Dijk – who’d made a box-to-box run.