Pundit ranks Virgil van Dijk ahead of Mo Salah this season

Craig Burley believes Virgil van Dijk has been the best player so far in the Premier League this season, and also thinks Mohamed Salah is better than Eden Hazard.

Burley, who once played for Chelsea, included both Liverpool players in a Top 5 ranking of league stars for the 2018/18 campaign after the Reds maintained their unbeaten run against Man United on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are currently top of the league after 17 matches, and Burley believes Van Dijk has been pivotal to that success.

READ: Dejan Lovren claims Liverpool can go unbeaten in the Premier League

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 08: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool breaks away to score his second goal during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool FC at Vitality Stadium on December 08, 2018 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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Speaking to ESPN FC, he said: “I’m going to go for Mo Salah number four.

“I think his form has got better recently but a little bit earlier this season he was missing a lot of chances, the ball was bouncing off him, he wasn’t holding it up.

“We didn’t see the sparkling Mo Salah that we did last year, which was going to be difficult.

“But he’s started to get a bit of momentum again. The goals are coming, the performances are coming, he’s been excellent in recent weeks.”

Burley ranked Hazard in fifth with Raheem Sterling coming in at third – his top two ranked players were Alisson Becker and Van Dijk.

“I know he [Alisson] made a big mistake in the game against United which he got away with but he’s been brilliant,” Burley said, according to the Express.

“The reason I’m putting him in is because he’s part of a rock at the back for Liverpool, now that has driven them to the top of league.

“Yes you’ve got Salah’s goals and [Roberto] Firmino and [Sadio] Mane and all them, that’s great, free-flowing – fantastic.

“But you need the other end of the pitch. Along with this guy [Van Dijk], it’s not all about strikers and it’s not all about goals – don’t watch the Ballon d’Or!

“Most of these other guys take the plaudits and headlines in the national newspapers in the UK but Van Dijk signed for Celtic for a very small fee, I think a couple of million.

“Then he goes to Southampton, gets better and better. Then he goes to Liverpool, £75m, we’re thinking, ‘Wow that’s a lot of money!’

“He has been a Rolls Royce at the back not just for Liverpool but for Holland and he’s one of the main reasons why Liverpool are where they are in the Premier League and the knockout stages of the Champions League.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com