Gareth Southgate says if he thinks Virgil van Dijk is the best Premier League defender ever
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There has been much debate around whether Virgil van Dijk is the best defender ever, specifically when compared to John Terry, and Gareth Southgate has now ranked the duo in a top-10 list.After comments made by ex-Red Jermaine Pennant, former Chelsea star John Terry suggested he was better than Van Dijk.The Dutchman continues to shine at the highest level and has been impressing on the goal-scoring front this season, though he is still some way off matching Terry’s goal return. Liverpool have to lose one of the two games vs Wolves, which do you pick?
Out of the cup or top four hopes take a hit? Photo Credit: Getty Images/James Gill/Danehouse/Julian Finney Gareth Southgate ranks Virgil van Dijk number one ahead of John Terry and Rio FerdinandYet, goals are not the most important thing for a centre-back, and with Van Dijk’s career now in its twilight years, the debate about where he ranks among the all-time Premier League greats is expected to rage for many years.The latest to weigh in on the situation is former England and Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate.Speaking to the Football Board Room Podcast, Southgate ranked Van Dijk as the number one Premier League centre-back out of 10 names given to him and said: “I just think he’s been such an influence on Liverpool winning the league.
Huge signing for them.”The aforementioned Terry was put in third place, with Southgate’s ranking of the 10 names he was given as follows.1: Virgil van Dijk2: Rio Ferdinand3: John Terry4: Vincent Kompany5: Tony Adams6: Jamie Carragher7: Ruben Dias8: Harry Maguire9: Wes Morgan10: Gareth Southgate Pick your favourite modern Liverpool legend… Two icons of the Klopp era 🔴🙌 Mo Salah and Sadio Mane for Liverpool Most clean sheets from centre-backs in Premier League historyAt present, Van Dijk is certainly in the conversation to be one of the best centre-backs, but given he didn’t really cement himself as a top name until he moved to Liverpool, he’s probably not had a long enough career at the summit to be considered by neutrals as the greatest of all time.Terry has more trophies and goals under his belt, while the ex-Chelsea man also has the most clean sheets of any centre-back in the history of the Premier League.He managed 218 in 492 games, while Jamie Carragher (202 in 508) takes second place, and Ferdinand (200 in 504 appearances) rounds out the top three.Van Dijk, meanwhile, sits ninth in the list that counts clean sheets as long as a player featured for 60 minutes of a match.To date, the 34-year-old has 124 clean sheets in 327 outings.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox