Paul Scholes has been speaking about Virgil van Dijk being in an all-time Premier League XI and said he thinks Van Dijk has dropped off over the last couple of years.
Honestly, I completely disagree with that.
Yeah, maybe he’s not at that insane 2019 level where nobody could get past him and he looked like a machine every single week — but that version of Van Dijk was one of the best defenders we’ve ever seen in this league.
Even now he’s still top class for me.
I actually think people expect perfection from him because he set the standards so high.
If another defender was putting in the performances Van Dijk still puts in now, everyone would be talking about how good they are.
Instead, because it’s Van Dijk, people act like he’s finished the second he’s not absolutely flawless.
And let’s be honest, Liverpool haven’t exactly made life easy for him either.
The defence changes constantly, there’s been injuries everywhere, the midfield hasn’t protected the back line properly at times… yet he still looks our most reliable defender most weeks.
Personally, I still think he’s one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League without question.
He reads the game brilliantly, still dominates physically, and there aren’t many defenders I’d swap him for even now.
So no, I’m not buying this idea that he’s suddenly not world class anymore.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
The Kopite View 
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