“What a player” – Neville & Carragher heap praise on this one Liverpool star

Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher heaped praise on Virgil van Dijk following Liverpool’s frustrating 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.

Van Dijk started once again at the heart of the Liverpool back four during the Merseyside Derby yesterday and he produced another superb performance to help the Reds secure their fifth consecutive clean sheet.

The Dutch international was a rock at the back as he dealt with everything Everton could throw at him on a blustery afternoon at Goodison with van Dijk making a number of headed clearance and interceptions to keep the hosts at bay.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, their attackers struggled at the other end of the pitch with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane missing chances to secure the win they needed to return back to the top of the Premier League table.

However, despite the disappointing result, Neville and Carragher were still in awe of van Dijk after the game with the Sky Sports pundits both picking out the Liverpool defender for special praise.

Former Manchester United full-back Neville said ‘what a player’ in reference to van Dijk while Carragher – who played as a centre-back for Liverpool for many years – believes the Dutchman is a ‘shoo-in’ for the Player of the Year Award following another impressive display on Sunday.

Neville is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail:

‘What a player he is, whenever somebody comes near him, he just deals with it.’

Carragher added:

‘Van Dijk is well in the running, if not a shoo-in for Player of the Year. He looks like a man playing in a kid’s game. It feels like there’s more gears to go into.

‘If Liverpool are going to win this league, it’s having Van Dijk and having the best defensive record in the Premier League.’

There is no doubt van Dijk has had a huge impact at Liverpool since joining the club in a record £75m deal from Southampton in January 2018 as he’s almost single-handedly turned their defence in to the best in the league.

Liverpool have conceded just 15 times in their 29 league games so far this season, which is 5 less than Man City and HALF what third-placed Tottenham have conceded, and there is no doubt van Dijk has been central to that transformation.