Former Premier League player Kevin Phillips has urged Liverpool to give defender Virgil van Dijk “anything he wants” in his new contract.
The Reds have been reportedly trying to give the Dutch colossus a revised deal after his arrival at Anfield in January has been nothing short of a revelation. His £75m fee now feels like a bargain, considering what Alan Shearer said about it at the time.
Now, he has been labelled as the best defender in the world after a vast amount of impressive performances over the past two seasons, with many now having a differing opinion towards the Holland international.
It got to the stage where Van Dijk had not been dribbled past by an opposing player in 50 Premier League games, which illustrates just how good he has been for us.
Ex-Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips agreed and told Football Insider that Liverpool should make it their top priority to offer Van Dijk a new deal.
Is Virgil van Dijk Liverpool's best signing in the Premier League era?
Yes
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“You would certainly want to tie him down”, he said. “Give him within reason anything he wants, to tie him down for the next four or five years. He is only going to get better. If Liverpool want to compete year in and year out he is a player they need on board. The way he plays, as long as he does not pick up any nasty injuries, I would say he has another eight years left – at least six quality seasons. When you are playing a top side, and dominating games, you do not tend to do as much running! It helps.”
Phillips is right, and it highlights just why he finished in second place behind Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or awards.
Van Dijk has played 113 times for us and has scored 11 goals and provided six assists in that time. He has been a game-changer for us and has provided us with the ability and competence to complete at the elite level of football, and win our sixth European crown in Madrid.
You can argue that no one deserves a new contract more than this man. A phenomenal footballer that will surely go down as one of the club’s best defenders of all time.