Virgil van Dijk has come under a lot of strong criticism during the international break with the Netherlands and now it appears that this analysis will be following him back to domestic football, with yet more heading our centre-back’s way.
Speaking on ESPN, Steve Nicol said: “There’s two things. Number one – there’s no question, he isn’t the Virgil van Dijk that was. But the other thing is, a Virgil van Dijk who isn’t quite at his best, is he still better than nine out of ten centre-backs? And actually, he probably still is”.
Our No.4 has been at his impervious best for years but it does appear that his serious injury sustained at Everton has damaged his powers but the level of abuse headed his way, seems totally unfair.
We’ve seen in this campaign that we’re a much better team with the Dutchman than without and so perhaps the thought that he’s not at his best but still one of the best, is a fair one from the ex-Red.
You can watch Nicol’s comments on van Dijk (from 0:18) via ESPN UK on YouTube: