Virgil van Dijk is a Rolls Royce – I’d have loved to have played alongside complete Liverpool skipper

Yesterday at 07:13 AM

Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Kolo Toure – Martin Keown has played alongside some of the Premier League’s best centre-backs.

And the Arsenal Invincible has revealed he would have loved Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk to have joined his list of world class teammates.

Van Dijk is widely considered to be one of the greatest centre-halves the Premier League has ever seen.

Since his record-breaking move to Liverpool from Southampton in the 2018 winter transfer window, the 33-year-old has made his £75million fee look like a bargain.

Many fans felt as though the ex-Celtic star was on the down coming into this campaign, with some even stating Liverpool should cash in on him with his contract to expire in 2025.

But having been part of a Liverpool side that are six points clear at the top – conceding just 19 goals – Van Dijk will be in contention for Player of the Season shouts come May.

And Keown, who boldly left him out of his top five defenders of the term in November, has waxed lyrical over the player’s supreme talents.

Speaking to talkSPORT.com, he was asked whether he’d have loved to have played alongside the Dutchman.

To which he said: “Goodness, I don’t think anyone would complain [about] playing with Virgil van Dijk!

“He plays on that left side, I liked to play on the right.

“I particularly like that he’s never phased in possession.

“He gets onto that right foot, he plays off like a stationary platform, he just pings things out to [Mohamed] Salah – what a great target he is.”

Pressed as to what makes Van Dijk such a complete player, Keown stated: “He’s a Rolls Royce.

“He’s purring across the ground, he’s got pace, he’s a man mountain, he’s very good in the air.”

Keown continued: “He’s probably just at the peak of his powers right now.

“He’s another player that obviously Liverpool will be looking to keep, his contract is up at the end of the season.”

In what could be his last year at Anfield, Van Dijk has proven to be instrumental for Liverpool both domestically and in Europe.

He has featured in all 19 of the club’s top-flight fixtures so far, as well as each of their six Champions League group games, helping his side sit top of the table on both fronts.

And Liverpool fans will be desperate for him to extend his stay beyond the summer, though as it stands, there is no progress on contract talks.

Speaking recently to Sky Sports, Van Dijk was asked whether there have been any developments regarding a potential stay, to which he simply stated: “Nothing.”

Commenting on whether he expects an update soon, he remarked: “I don’t think so, but I am calm about it, like I said months ago.

“We’ll see what happens in the future and at this point I have got absolutely no update.”