Steve Nicol says why Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is not the best Premier League centre-back of all time

Liverpool have many of the best players in world football and some might even be considered as the greatest of all time.

It is safe to say that throughout the Premier League era, the Reds had never really been considered as one of the best teams in England, until fairly recently that is.

They have always had plenty of talent in their squad but they were never the best all-round, with Liverpool often far too reliant on just a handful of stars.

Now, however, their team is stacked with quality and the options Arne Slot has at his disposal are frightening, with this one of Liverpool’s most complete teams in a very long time.

One of the best and most reliable stars in the team is Virgil van Dijk, with the Dutchman revolutionising the entire team since his arrival in 2017.

In fact, he has been so good that many have labelled him as the best centre-back in Premier League history, although Steve Nicol believes that might be a step too far.

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Steve Nicol thinks Virgil van Dijk is on par with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand

The Premier League has seen its fair share of immense centre-backs in its time, meaning that when trying to decide the best, the debate could go on forever.

However, there are always a few names who are consistently in the mix, with these being John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.

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Van Dijk is the latest player to throw his hat into the ring and many believe he is better than both of them, although former Red Nicol believes that choosing just one is impossible.

“I think the answer to the question is that he hasn’t surpassed them [Terry and Ferdinand] because they’ve all been as important in captaining and looking after everyone around them in great teams.” he said on ESPN FC.

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“All great teams have someone at centre-back in my opinion who holds it together and steers the ship.

“I don’t think you can separate them at all. They all deserve to be in the conversation, to turn around and say who is the best is an impossibility.”

Whether he is or not can never really be decided until he has finished his Liverpool career, and with two years left on his contract, he still has plenty of time to put forward his case.

Virgil van Dijk could play for Liverpool in any era

Throughout their time, Liverpool have had some simply incredible centre-backs, with some of the best being Alan Hansen, Phil Thompson and Sami Hyypia.

However, despite all spanning across many different decades, many believe that van Dijk could play in any team throughout history, with former Man City defender Nedum Onuoha believing he has traits that both Terry and Ferdinand possessed.

“The ones who we are naming, he has traits that suit both of them,” he also told ESPN FC.

“I think with Terry, the last-ditch nature of him, some of the defending, the heroism, he has that. For Rio, the ability on the ball, he’s got that as well.

“He’s also massive and got a huge presence. So for van Dijk, I think he can play for Liverpool in this era but he also could have played in previous eras as well.”

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