Rating the top 10 January 2018 transfers and their progress in one year

#1 Virgil Van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool)

The most expensive defender in football history and he truly lived up to the expectations.

The best defender in the world at the moment. The best defender in the world this season. There is absolutely no argument against the two statements.

This season, nobody has been better than Virgil Van Dijk in the back end. Neither Ramos, nor Varane, nor Pique or anyone else.

Last summer, Liverpool were trolled heavily for their winter transfer window. They let go off Coutinho and they signed a player who was hardly known to many people.

To add to it, they paid €78.8 million to land the Dutchman at Anfield, making him the most expensive defender till date. But one year after the deal, Van Dijk has shown everybody that 75 million for him was a bargain.

After Van Dijk's arrival, Liverpool's defense was steadied and looked more than composed. This showed in the remaining league matches and the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.

In the final against Real Madrid, never once was the defense broke or left-behind as such. Two goals were gifted by Karius and one was a flash of brilliance from Bale.

Van Dijk had averaged 1.3 interceptions and 1.1 tackles per game last season. This season he averages 1.1 interceptions and 0.9 tackles.

But Liverpool seems a far better side especially defensively. In two league games, even Manchester City scored only two past them. Liverpool has the best defensive record in the league and has conceded only 13 goals.

Van Dijk has been a rock at the back. Even if Liverpool concede 20 goals in the remaining 15 games they will have a better defensive record than the last season. With Van Dijk in front of the keeper, even that is just a weak possibility.

Rating: 10/10

Verdict: A perfect signing by Liverpool. Not only are his performances up to the mark but he has steadied the whole defensive line, exactly what Liverpool asked of him.