Former Groningen boss Pieter Huistra has labelled Virgil van Dijk a better player than ex-Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic.
The coach gave van Dijk his debut eight years ago in the Dutch league – and it’s fair to say the 27-year-old hasn’t looked back since.
Moves to Celtic and then Southampton followed, before he signed for Liverpool in 2018 – reaching two consecutive Champions League Finals (one of them successful) and establishing himself as the best defender on the planet.
For some reason, comparisons have been made with Serbian Vidic, who was a cornerstone of United’s last great Premier League side.
Most of these have been from United supporters who are trying to downplay van Dijk’s current dominance by claiming Vidic was superior, but we don’t agree.
Neither does Huistra.
“I’m biased anyway, so I would choose Virgil. He has more, he has a little bit more,” Huistra told talkSPORT
“Vidic, of course, without any doubt was a very good player, he played in a top team.
“In my view, Virgil has everything. He has the flair, he has the technique, he has the passing, he has the defensive leadership, he has the personality that catches people’s eye.
“I just admire the strengths of certain players.
“There have been very good defenders in the Premier League and when you [Van Dijk] are talked about in that group of players then it’s a good honour.”
The only thing Vidic has that van Dijk doesn’t is a medal haul. Stylistically and in terms of ability, our no.4 is the better player – but over the next five years – he’ll need to build a trophy collection to prove that.