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Virgil van Dijk is the best defender in the Premier League this season. The Dutch behemoth has been fantastic for Jurgen Klopp and is the defensive captain of a talented Liverpool side.
Van Dijk has had a sensational Premier League season and has been a part of one of the best Liverpool sides in history. The 28-year-old defender has been a colossus in Liverpool's defence and has established a sound understanding with his teammates.
Virgil van Dijk is one of the Premier League's most important players
Van Dijk is irreplaceable in Jurgen Klopp's lineup and is usually one of the first names in the starting eleven. The Dutch defender has started every single one of Liverpool's 33 games in this Premier League season and has barely put a foot wrong over the past ten months.
With Alisson Becker behind him, Virgil van Dijk has made Liverpool's defence very difficult to penetrate. Apart from a shock loss to a glorious Manchester City side in which Van Dijk himself did not put a foot wrong, Liverpool has been one of the best defensive units in the Premier League and in Europe this season.
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Van Dijk boasts an excellent understanding of the defensive aspects of the game and his excellent positioning often ensures that he does not need to commit many defensive actions.
The Dutch behemoth averages only 0.7 tackles per game in the Premier League but one look at Van Dijk's style of play and it is abundantly evident that very few defenders in the world can surpass the Premier League star when it comes to reading the game.
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have both been beneficiaries of the centre-back's stunning prowess. With Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence, the newly crowned Premier League champions have conceded only 25 goals in 33 games and have shut out several quality sides in this Premier League season.
Liverpool had one of the worst defences in the Premier League less than five years ago and the rest of the world scoffed when the Reds paid a massive £75 million transfer fee to secure the defender's services from Southampton.
The decision has unquestionably paid dividends, however, as Van Dijk marshalled Liverpool's defensive lines and played a crucial role in the side's victorious 2018/19 Champions League campaign.
Van Dijk is also perfectly capable of posing a potent threat in the final third. The defender often uses his physicality to soar over his Premier League opponents and give Liverpool a distinct set-piece advantage.
The Dutchman has also improved his ball-playing abilities over the past two years and often launches excellent long balls straight into the path of the Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. Van Dijk has scored 4 goals this Premier League season.
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp will certainly want more Premier League glory to come their way in the next few years and Virgil van Dijk is arguably the most important piece of the Liverpool puzzle.
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