Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson has waxed lyrical about his brilliant team-mate Virgil van Dijk.
Hendo is likely to win the Premier League Player of the Year this season, but in truth, it could easily be Liverpool’s no.4 – who has been pretty much faultless and ever-present at the back.
Hendo has explained how the giant Dutchman is just as good off the field as he is on it – which is some compliment given the fact he’s by far and away the best centre-back on the planet.
“I couldn’t speak highly enough of him as a player. Of course, everybody knows how good he is and what he’s done over the last couple of years as a team, he’s been immense. He’s won his individual awards and rightly so. He’s an unbelievable defender, an unbelievable player,” Hendo told the official website.
“But for me, he’s brought something huge off the pitch. I couldn’t speak highly enough of him off the pitch and the type of man and person that he is. He’s an incredible person, a great leader to have in the dressing room and he’s given everybody a big boost from the first minute that he came in.
“Every day it’s a pleasure to be around him, [he’s] always smiling, always in a good frame of mind and he’s had a huge impact in the dressing room and on the pitch since he’s been at the club.
“He does things properly, leads by example and I’m just delighted for him [with] how he’s been playing and getting all the awards that he’s been getting because it’s well deserved and he deserves everything he gets.”
It’s great that Liverpool have such an exemplary captain in Henderson, but also leaders in the squad like van Dijk who can help carry the weight of expectation.
James Milner, Adam Lallana and Gini Wijnaldum are all senior members of the squad as well and have helped create the brilliant spirit that has helped us achieve so much the past few years.
Henderson has lifted the Champions League and the Club World Championships in the past 12 months, and will add the Premier League trophy to his collection once football returns in the coming weeks.