'Possibly': Peter Crouch makes Virgil van Dijk claim just before Liverpool kick-off against Nottingham Forest

Yesterday at 03:15 PM

Liverpool take on Nottingham Forest tonight in an unexpected Premier League title decider for the Reds.

The City Ground side have been the surprise team in the Premier League this season with Forest heading into tonight’s game sat in third place and six points off Liverpool, with Nuno Espirito Santo transforming the Nottingham giants this campaign.

One big advantage Liverpool have for tonight’s game, though, is the return of the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk to the starting XI after Arne Slot gave a number of starting XI regulars last weekend off against Accrington Stanley.

And Peter Crouch has now made a lofty claim about Van Dijk just before kick-off this evening.

Van Dijk ‘possibly’ the best defender Crouch has ever seen

Speaking on TNT Sports coverage of the match, the former Liverpool striker admitted that Van Dijk is ‘possibly’ the best centre-back he has ever seen, even with Crouch himself facing off some true defensive legends of the game.

With Van Dijk yet to sign a new Liverpool contract, time is running out for the Reds to tie the 33-year-old down to fresh terms to keep him at Anfield, with the Dutch international in amazing form this season alongside Ibrahima Konate.

Crouch said pre-match: “As much as I’ve bigged up Chris Wood, he’s playing against Virgil van Dijk, who’s possibly the best I’ve ever seen, present company aside [Rio Ferdinand]! He’s genuinely one of the best defenders of all time.

“He’s got pace, he’s got strength, he’s got the bit between his teeth this season, he looks like a real leader and he’s conducted himself the right way around his new contract, he’s the main man.”

What else has been said about Van Dijk’s form this season?

Liverpool’s form this season has been built from a strong defensive unit that Arne Slot has helped create since joining in the summer, with Van Dijk’s form pivotal to this change for the Reds.

And Crouch is hardly the only pundit to praise the former Southampton star’s incredible performances this season, with Martin Keown lauding Van Dijk as a ‘man mountain’ having rediscovered his best-in-the-world touch under Slot.

Indeed, Van Dijk’s staying and signing a new contract is paramount to Liverpool’s success in the future in the Slot era, and the Reds must do all they can to renew the defender’s deal whilst time is still on the clock.