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#1 Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands, Liverpool)
When Jurgen Klopp broke the bank for the Dutchman in January last year, everyone questioned his decision. Cut to a year and a half and van Dijk is perhaps the nearest competitor to Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or this year! The Dutchman has been phenomenal for Liverpool and the German coach has been ably rewarded for his farsightedness.
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van Dijk is a calm and composed presence in the defense that is the epitome of every champion team. He provides the solidity at the back that allows Liverpool to attack at will and play Klopp's "heavy metal" football. The Dutchman is outstanding in the air and is also an exceptional passer of the ball. He has averaged around 80 passes per game in the league and has 203 accurate long balls to his name. His tackling has also been perfect; van Dijk does not always dive into tackles, but when he does, he has a brilliant tackle success rate of 74%!
The Dutchman is a constant threat from set-pieces too and has been an ever-present feature in the Liverpool defense this season, starting in all 38 games, scoring 4 goals and registering 2 assists. He was the main reason why Liverpool lost just 1 game in the entire season and is, without doubt, the best defender in the Premier League this season.
