Former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany believes Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk is the best centre-back in Premier League history.Kompany was quizzed for his choice in a video posted by Sporf and he opted for Van Dijk, who has been incredible for Liverpool since joining in January 2018.The Premier League has witnessed some outstanding centre-backs since its inception in 1992.Kompany himself is close to the top, having won four league titles with Man City.Others who belong in the conversation include Chelsea icon John Terry and former Manchester United duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.Yet in Kompany’s eyes, nobody sits above Liverpool's Van Dijk, who finished second to Lionel Messi at the 2019 Ballon d’Or award.“I would bring it back to Virgil van Dijk,” the Belgian said.“And it’s a weird one because he hasn’t been on the scene for as long as these names we mentioned, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, these guys were there for a long, long time.
“But the signs he showed in his last few years just make it so obvious that if he would’ve been at the top, top level before that, he would’ve been already further as well.“And from what I’ve seen in terms of having an impact on the team, and a defender is never about himself, it’s about his communication with other guys and how you make your team more solid.“And the Liverpool before Van Dijk and the one after him, it’s a completely different setup, and I’ll give him that one because of that.”
Real recognises real.
Van Dijk’s critics will point to the lack of trophies and experience at the highest level compares to those who came before him.
However, have we ever seen another centre-back play the position as well as he has?
Probably not.
And that’s why we have no objections to Kompany’s choice.