A current Premier League defender has been hailed as ‘one of the best in the history of football’ by former star Jose Fonte.
Ex-Portugal centre-back Fonte spent seven years at Southampton, helping the Saints secure promotion from League One to the Premier League in the space of three seasons before the south coast side established themselves as a mainstay in the English top-flight.
Fonte, now 41, also had spells at English clubs West Ham and Crystal Palace as well as European teams Benfica and Lille.
It was during his stint at Southampton that Fonte believes he played with ‘one of the best defender in the history of football’ in Virgil van Dijk.
Two-and-a-half impressive seasons at St Mary’s led then-Southampton captain Van Dijk to be signed by Liverpool in January 2018 for £75m.
That made Van Dijk one of the most expensive signings in history but the Netherlands international has more than justified the huge outlay, helping bring Premier League and Champions League trophies to Anfield.
Now in his eighth season at Liverpool, Van Dijk looks as good as ever in an Arne Slot team that has conceded just 21 goals this season – the least in the Premier League – and opened up a six-point gap at the top of the table.
Fonte is adamant his former Saints teammate must now be viewed as an all-time great and says he ‘wouldn’t be shocked’ if Van Dijk joined European giants Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich this summer.
Van Dijk, 33, has entered the final six months of his contract at Anfield along with fellow superstars Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold and is yet to sign a new deal to stay at Liverpool.
‘Virgil van Dijk would thrive at Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him at one of those clubs next season,’ Fonte told BoyleSports.
‘Those clubs will be looking for defenders that are as reliable as Van Dijk and they will all be looking if he gets to the end of the season without signing a contract.
‘He can still perform at the highest level and he has shown he can take care of himself. He will have no problem continuing at the highest level for another three or four years.
‘Even if Van Dijk loses a bit of pace, he won’t be slow. He will get even better in his positioning and his anticipation. He is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the history of football.’
In a worrying update for Liverpool fans, Van Dijk recently admitted he had ‘no idea’ how long he has left at Anfield.
Asked how many more Liverpool games he has ahead of him, the Dutchman said: ‘I have no idea. How many left this season?
‘Hopefully those are guaranteed and then I don’t know what the future will bring.’
Van Dijk helped Liverpool keep a clean sheet last weekend as Slot’s side beat high-flying Bournemouth 2-0 to continue their seemingly seamless march to the Premier League trophy.
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