‘A bit rubbish’ – Pundit bizarrely labels Liverpool ace ‘overrated’ after what he did last night
One Liverpool ace has bizarrely been labelled as ‘overrated’ and told that he’s ‘nowhere near’ the all-time Premier League XI.
Virgil van Dijk returned to Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI for last night’s League Cup semi-final defeat of Fulham at Anfield and although the Dutchman made a mistake in the build up the visitors’ opener with a poor header in his own area he did help the Reds to a 2-1 victory ahead of the second leg in a fortnight.
Our No. 4, who was named captain of the club following the departure of Jordan Henderson in the summer, has looked back to his best this term with some exceptional displays but former Chelsea man Jason Cundy believes the 32-year-old cannot be compared to the likes of Sol Campbell, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
“He can do this van Dijk,” the commentator told talkSPORT (via HITC). “Sometimes he puts in displays where you go ‘that’s a bit rubbish’.
“Not only does he head the ball in a direction that you don’t want him to. Personally, I think he is overrated.
“I don’t think he is anywhere near the levels, consistently, of the likes of Sol Campbell, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. I don’t think he is anywhere near that, personally.
“He’s had two good seasons. I know people will go on about the injury he picked up against Everton during COVID. It was a terrible injury. There’s no doubt he is top-class. But I don’t think he’s in that all-time Premier League XI. He is nowhere near it.”
To label the Netherlands international as ‘overrated’ is simply wrong in our opinion.
Since joining Liverpool in January of 2018 van Dijk has helped us win every major trophy possible and has become recognised as the best defender in world football by many.
He dominates both on the ground and in the air and can also ping the ball with immense accuracy from the centre of defence.
There’s no denying that the serious knee injury he sustained a few years ago did impact his performances but he’s looking sharp again this term and it’s therefore no coincidence that we’re currently sat top of the Premier League and still fighting on all four fronts.
Klopp’s men have conceded the fewest goals in the league this term (18) and the former Southampton man is one of the main reasons behind that.
Cundy can think what he wants but for us the skipper is certainly up there with the best defenders the English top-flight has seen.
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