Premier League striker who 'tore apart' Nemanja Vidic twice claims he's not on Virgil van Dijk's level

A former Premier League striker who claimed he “tore apart” Nemanja Vidic believes the Manchester United icon is not on Virgil Van Dijk’s level.

Van Dijk’s performances for a resurgent Liverpool this term have reignited conversations regarding where the Dutchman stands in the pantheon of great Premier League centre-backs.

In the wake of Van Dijk’s winner in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea last month, some fans on social media claimed the 32-year-old was superior to United icon Vidic.

Former Premier League striker Gary Taylor-Fletcher, who netted five times and claimed a further seven assists in Blackpool’s sole Premier League season in 2010/11, has insisted that Van Dijk is better than Vidic.

Taylor-Fletcher said on X, formally Twitter: “Yeah and I tore him apart twice for Blackpool in the 2010/11 season. He was nowhere near the levels of [Rio] Ferdinand, [John] Terry & VVD.

“He was the same level as [Martin] Skrtel. Solid good player. Not elite.”

Taylor-Fletcher scored one goal across his two Premier League encounters against United, both of which ended in defeat for the 42-year-old.

He was responding to a Tweet which claimed that Van Dijk had just one Premier League title against the likes of Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Harvey Barnes, while Vidic has won five in an era where he was up against Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been among those to claim Van Dijk is better than Vidic in the past.

Vidic is one of United's greatest Premier League (Getty)

Carragher tweeted last year in a middling season for the Netherlands star: “VVD is far better than Vidic, who was a top CB, but have you forgotten his performances against Torres?

“Rio & JT had poor seasons in their career like all players, VVD is having one now.

“No CB in the PL era has ever had VVD’s impact on a team. Never mind the best CB in the league, he’s been the best player in the league along with KDB for four years before this one.

“We have never spoken about other CB’s being the best player before, that shows the level he was at.”

Topics: Liverpool, Manchester United, Premier League, Virgil Van Dijk, Nemanja Vidic

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.