Virgil van Dijk is ‘a Rolls Royce’ of a defender while Vincent Kompany was more of an ‘unbelievable leader’, says James Milner, with it almost impossible to pick between a colossus currently at Liverpool and a former Manchester City skipper.
Milner is well placed to pass judgement on two of the most commanding centre-halves to have graced a Premier League stage.
He enjoyed title success alongside Kompany while at the Etihad Stadium, while a Champions League triumph has been savoured as part of a successful team at Anfield that has Van Dijk at its heart.
Milner is a big fan of both and believes that they each bring different qualities to the table.
With that in mind, he would rather shower the pair with praise and avoid trying to reach a definitive conclusion in any comparison.
Milner told Sky Sports when quizzed on the brilliance of defensive teammates from past and present: ‘They are massive players. You always look at the spine of a successful team and it starts right through the middle with the leaders at the back and how important defending is.
‘Vinny – unbelievable player. How he went about his business, he struggled with injuries but the amount of injuries you saw him play through as well which nobody would have ever known, was incredible.
‘He would put his head on the line. An unbelievable leader, a great captain with so many great qualities on that side, and rightly so, one of the greatest defenders to play in the Premier League.
‘Virgil is probably a bit different to that. Maybe a bit more of a Rolls Royce, if you like, and he doesn’t seem to make too many tackles. He gets in the right spot and moves the ball away.
‘Maybe he’s got a few more diagonals in his locker than Vinny had, although Vinny did have that as well. And Vinny had the greatest ball strike, I suppose, when he lashed one into the top corner! So, he could strike a ball alright as well.’
Kompany left City in 2019 after taking in 360 appearances for the club and helping them to four Premier League titles, two FA Cup wins, four League Cup triumphs and a number of notable records.
Van Dijk, who joined Liverpool for £75 million ($94m) in January 2018, has proved be one of the final pieces in the jigsaw at Anfield as Klopp’s side have lifted Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup crowns – while also waiting on a Premier League coronation in 2019-20.
