Former Liverpool captain Sami Hyypiä expects Virgil van Dijk to once again become the best central defender in the Premier League. According to Hyypiä’s former teammate, Jamie Carragher, Van Dijk still ranks among the top of the English league.
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Since making his comeback from a knee injury sustained against Everton in 2020, Virgil van Dijk, the captain of the Dutch national team, has frequently faced criticism. Sami Hyypiä, who played for Liverpool from 1999 to 2009, believes that Van Dijk has proven that he is on his way back to his peak form of a few years ago.
Raising the Bar
"Van Dijk remains one of the best defenders in the world," said Hyypiä, also a former Willem II player, speaking to PA news agency. The Dutchman won with Liverpool against Everton on Saturday afternoon. "However, I have noticed that Van Dijk has set the bar very high in previous years, and it is incredibly challenging to reach that level in every game."
"I find him to be very strong now, and he is truly a leader for this Liverpool team. Van Dijk has shown this season that he is still of top quality. I have no doubt that Van Dijk will once again become the best central defender in the Premier League," added Hyypiä, who won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, and two FA Cups with Liverpool.
Becoming Human Again
His former teammate Carragher notes that Van Dijk is not consistently as strong as he was a few years back. "Van Dijk was brilliant in the 2021/22 season when Liverpool was just two victories away from a quadruple. In the long term, his knee injury has taken its toll. However, the recent criticism is mostly based on how exceptional Van Dijk used to be," said Carragher, speaking to The Telegraph.
"Van Dijk narrowly lost the Ballon d'Or battle to Lionel Messi in 2019, which is of course a huge honor for a central defender. Over the past few years, Van Dijk has gone from being supernatural in defensive terms to being human. But he still ranks among the top four central defenders in the Premier League," concludes the Sky Sports analyst.
Updated: 02:53, 23 Oct 2023
