‘He’s overrated’: Pundit claims one Liverpool player is nowhere near as good as people think
Jason Cundy, a pundit for TalkSPORT, has criticized Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, calling him an overrated defender, following the team’s loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Despite a recent run of good form in the Premier League, Liverpool suffered a lackluster defeat against the Cherries on the south coast, following their victory over Manchester United 7-0 the previous weekend.
Despite a strong start in the first 15 minutes at the Vitality Stadium, Liverpool failed to deliver and Philip Billing’s goal just before the half-hour mark secured the win for Bournemouth.
While Mohamed Salah missed a chance to equalize from a penalty in the second half, Liverpool’s defense was also questionable during Bournemouth’s goal-scoring play.
During the match, Van Dijk was beaten easily by Dango Ouattara on the right-hand side, and Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to mark Billing in the box during Bournemouth’s goal-scoring play.
As a result, Cundy has criticized Van Dijk’s performances for Liverpool this season and believes that the media has overrated him.
Cundy expressed his opinion on TalkSPORT, stating that he believes Van Dijk makes too many mistakes to be considered on par with defenders like John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. He feels that Van Dijk is not as consistent and dependable as those players.
“I think he’s overrated, personally. I think there’s a lot of media loving of what Van Dijk has done. No doubt he’s a brilliant centre half, [but] he makes too many mistakes,” he said.
“Mistakes that I think go unnoticed. There was a goal they conceded when they went out a couple of seasons ago during COVID in the Champions League. And again, he has this languid style of running, he seems to try to buy time but doesn’t react.”
He added: “That is poor centre half play [when Van Dijk was outmuscled by Dominic Solanke] even though he’s on the other side.
“I think he’s had a good 18 months and I know the injury has had an impact. But that goal today was not about the injury, that’s about his lack of, I can’t quite put my finger on it because once he [Ouattara] gets away from him inside, he seems to stop and misjudge the situation.”
In addition to his previous comments, Cundy stated that he believes Van Dijk is not even close to being on the same level as John Terry, the former Chelsea player, and Rio Ferdinand, a Manchester United icon, in terms of defensive ability.
It is true that Van Dijk has not been performing at his best this season, but he has also been struggling since his serious injury against Everton in October 2020. Despite this, Van Dijk was considered the Premier League’s best defender for several years, and it may be unfair for Cundy to call him overrated.
There is still a chance for Van Dijk to regain his form, especially since he was also out with a hamstring injury at the end of January.
It’s important to remember that Liverpool as a team have not been playing at the same level they did in previous seasons, and it’s not solely the fault of star players like Van Dijk.
‘He’s overrated’: Pundit claims one Liverpool player is nowhere near as good as people think
