Virgil van Dijk admitted he has been impressed by what he’s seen from Arsenal defender William Saliba, with the Frenchman having emerged as one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
A few years ago, it was almost universally accepted that Van Dijk was the best defender in England, but competition for that title has increased in recent years with the arrivals of the likes of Saliba and Ruben Dias.
Asked in typically juvenile fashion by Rio Ferdinand which Premier League defender Van Dijk looks at and thinks, ‘wow, he’s doing his thing’, the Liverpool captain told Rio Ferdinand Presents: “Obviously, Saliba’s making very good steps at the moment. He’s the first one I just have in mind now. He’s a solid one. I think in possession, he’s doing a good job.
“Yeah [he reminds me of myself], maybe. I think, if I’m honest, when I was that age, I was nowhere near where he was today. Obviously, that’s the beauty of football as well. I like to watch other defenders and pick up so many stuff from them. There are so many good ballplayers and center-halves.”
Van Dijk explained why, despite being one of the top center-backs in the world for the best part of a decade, he continues to try and improve his game by watching other top players who play in his position. He added: “When you watch the game, I definitely watch games, especially on the highest level, you can always pick up certain things. But I also have in mind that teams are defending in a different way than we are defending, so you have to keep that in mind too.”
The Dutchman was asked if there is anything in particular that stands out that he has been looking to learn from other defenders, and said that his positioning is something he is always looking to improve on.
He said: “I think, especially in ball possession, the way you position yourself, because obviously we are a team that has the ball a lot. And I play on the left side as a right footer, center-half, obviously for many years. Sometimes it’s good to pick up the positioning of certain players and what they do. I feel like, at any age, you can keep learning and I definitely still do that.”
