Former Liverpool star Mark Wright has showered praise on Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk claiming that the Dutch center back is the kingpin at Liverpool and the most valuable player at the club.
Before Liverpool splashed out £75 million on the services of Virgil Van Dijk to purchase him from Southampton back in January 2018, the Reds had holes all over their backline. But the arrival of Van Dijk has given the Reds a platform to allow the attacking players to express themselves to the best of their ability.
The 27-year-old Van Dijk won the PFA Player Of The Year and also won the Champions League medal putting in some monumental performances for Liverpool in the heart of their defense. His displays have been so impressive that Van Dijk has gained plaudits and praise from plenty of pundits and former footballers.
And now former Liverpool defender Mark Wright has decided to wax lyrical on Van Dijk and his traits as he spoke to Sky Sports and labeled the Netherlands captain as the kingpin at Merseyside, “You can talk about his ability in possession and, yes, he can head the ball, he is quick and he can do all the other bits and pieces as well. But you don’t come to Liverpool unless you can do those things. The biggest thing that has impressed me is what I see from him when the ball is at the other end of the pitch. He dictates. He makes sure people fill those pockets where previously Liverpool was being hurt on the counter-attack. He makes sure others are aware. It’s that organization of others that have made the biggest difference because there aren’t a lot of leaders around but he can do that. Nobody is going to argue with him because Virgil is the kingpin.”
The 56-year-old Wright went on to add that Van Dijk is quite easily the best central defender in the Premier League, “I see him as the key to Liverpool’s success. He is an exceptional player and I really cannot believe it wasn’t more of a battle to get him because there is a dearth of top center-halves around. Look around. Name the top five in the Premier League and I think you would struggle to come up with five. Virgil stands out like a sore thumb, to be honest with you.”
