Vincent Kompany hails Virgil van Dijk as Premier League's greatest centre-back

Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany has hailed Virgil van Dijk as the Premier League's greatest ever centre-back for the role that he has played in Liverpool's transformation.

The Dutch defender has lifted the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup in the last 12 months, while also helping the Reds to the brink of a first ever Premier League title.

Despite the success of the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand for Chelsea and Manchester United respectively over a number of years, Kompany picked out Van Dijk - a £75m signing from Southampton in January 2018 - as the best there has been in his position.

"I would bring it back to Virgil van Dijk. And it's a weird one because he hasn't been on the scene for as long as these names we mentioned, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, these guys were there for a long, long time," he told Sporf.

"But the signs he showed in his last few years just make it so obvious that if he would've been at the top, top level before that, he would've been already further as well.

"And from what I've seen in terms of having an impact on the team, and a defender is never about himself, it's about his communication with other guys and how you make your team more solid.

"And the Liverpool before Van Dijk and the one after him, it's a completely different setup, and I'll give him that one because of that."

Van Dijk is no stranger to winning major honours of his own, having lifted four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four EFL Cups during a trophy-laden 11-year spell at Man City.