Liverpool Fan's Twitter Thread Staunchly Defends Virgil Van Dijk With Comparisons To Premier League Legends

A Liverpool fan has produced a comprehensive Twitter thread to staunchly defend Virgil van Dijk by comparing him with other Premier League legends.

Van Dijk, 29, has established himself as one of the best defenders in world football right now and been an instrumental figure in Liverpool's recent success.

The Dutch centre-back, who arrived at Anfield in 2018 after a whopping £75m move from Southampton, lifted the Champions League title with the Reds in 2019.

Van Dijk was named PFA Players' Player of the Year in that same season, along with finishing behind Lionel Messi for the 2019 Ballon d'Or.

The Netherlands captain showed his impact last season as Liverpool ended their 30-year league title drought by lifting the Premier League trophy.

Van Dijk has been hailed for his impact in the Premier League, but the Dutchman has been criticised by some fans for not performing at a high level until he was 26.

Now, Twitter user Jack Bryant has made interesting comparisons between the former Southampton defender and several legends, including Nemanja Vidic, Eric Cantona and Robin van Persie.

Van Dijk's absence has been felt this season as the Liverpool star has been out of action since October after he suffered an ACL injury in his right knee.

Liverpool's Premier League title defence has fallen flat as Manchester City hold a commanding 25-point lead over Jurgen Klopp's men.

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit has insisted that he wants to see Van Dijk return before the end of the season and play for Liverpool ahead of Euro 2020 this summer.

The 58-year-old former AC Milan star told beIN SPORTS: "I know for sure that if you saw the seriousness of the injury in the beginning, you already know that you're not going to play a lot of games with Liverpool.

"But you need to have a goal when you have an injury, and his goal was to at least get fit for the Euros, if it's possible.

"His doctors would say that as well, is it possible.

"Of course, the club wants him at least to play a couple of matches before he does, I think in Holland we want that as well.

"I can understand that he has that goal, and I hope that he does get it. If he's going to be fit, he doesn't have a lot of rhythm, so it's to be seen.

"For Holland, it's the most important thing that he plays some matches already with Liverpool."

Topics: Liverpool, Football, Premier League, England, Virgil Van Dijk

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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