Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has praised Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
The 32-year-old has now entered his eighth season with the Citizens since arriving from Wolfsburg back in 2015.
Having faced off against a significant number of players in the Premier League during his time at the Manchester club, the Belgian has highlighted one, in particular, that he feels is one of the best around at the moment.
Speaking in a recent video on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel, De Bruyne had this to say about Van Dijk after ranking him above Chelsea’s Thiago Silva and Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez in terms of their defensive ability.
He said: “He’s got everything. Obviously, I know him well but he’s got right foot, left foot, speed, height, he’s a leader.”
Liverpool signed the centre-back from Southampton during the 2018 January transfer window in a deal worth £75m.
Since then, the Dutchman has made 224 appearances for the Merseyside club across all competitions, scoring 19 goals and providing 12 assists along the way, playing a big role in their Premier League and Champions League winning campaigns.
Having also been voted as UEFA’s Best Player in Europe back in 2019, this further highlights how much of a top signing he’s been for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
With De Bruyne facing off against Van Dijk 13 times in total during his time at City, the midfielder has won five of those games, losing another five and drawing three of them, which highlights just how difficult it has been at times to get a positive result against the Dutchman.