For us, and any other Liverpool fan who has watched Virgil van Dijk this season, it’s incredibly obvious that right now there is no central defender on his level in world football.
But apparently it’s still up for debate!
In fairness, if the 27-year-old secures the Premier League this season, it won’t be.
Arjen Robben will soon have to come up against his international team-mate in the Champions League, with Bayern Munich facing us in the Last 16.
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Annoyingly, van Dijk is suspended for the first leg, and he’ll be a monumental miss. Hopefully Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will have returned by this point and can do a job in his absence.
Robben has lauded the defender, but suggested he might not be the planet’s best, yet.
“I do not know if he is the best defender in the world,” Robben told a recent press conference, cited in the Echo. “Other people are allowed to judge that, but I’m happy for him. He has made big strides lately, just look where he comes from.
“He has grown as a player, but also as a personality, I am happy for him, where he is at the moment. He is a key player at a gigantic club, and he is the captain of the Dutch national team. He deserves all the compliments.”
Bayern will be a huge test for us, but in truth, it’s the last thing on the minds of Reds right now.
We’ve got five Premier League matches to play before February’s matchup, that will go some way in defining who ends up with the title in May.
Fixtures against Brighton, Palace, Leicester, West Ham and Bournemouth are all winnable – and we hope to at least attain our four point lead before the Champions League gets underway.