Ollie Watkins was part of the first side managed by Steven Gerrard to compete against Liverpool, when he played at Anfield in December this season.
Speaking on the Fantasy Premier League show, the Aston Villa forward was asked who the best player he’s faced this season is and he said: “It has to be van Dijk.
“I said it last year, he’s quick and strong. He gives himself enough space so that he never gets exposed, he’s never getting in a race and even if you do get the ball you can’t get around him”.
There won’t be too many who are surprised to hear that our man is up right up there with the Premier League’s best defenders and he certainly deserves all the praise he gets.
Our No.4 is often complemented for his pace by other players, which is not necessarily something he has to showcase too often due to his brilliant reading of the game.
The captain of Holland has already shown on many occasions that he is one of, if not the, world’s best defenders.
You can watch Watkins’s comments on van Dijk (at 23:58) via the Premier League on YouTube:
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