Manchester United legend Gary Neville has said that given an opportunity, he would love to bring Virgil van Dijk over from Liverpool, even at the expense of Mohamed Salah.
Mohamed Salah And Virgil van Dijk Are The Two Strongest Pillars Of Liverpool
Premier League leaders Liverpool have a formidable squad, boasting some of the best attackers, midfielders, and defenders in the business. However, when push comes to shove, two players usually stand tall and lead their teammates by example.
Salah, 31, has been firing on all cylinders since joining from AS Roma in the summer of 2017. The ‘Egyptian King’ has played 338 games for the Merseysiders in all competitions so far, scoring 208 times and providing 89 assists. He is the third-highest goalscorer in the club’s history and easily their most impactful forward in the 21st century.
Van Dijk, 32, joined Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018. One of the toughest center-backs around, the Dutchman can hold his own against any attacker in the world. His leadership is also exemplary, with him helping the time turn the tide around time and again over the last six years. The Liverpool skipper has played 259 games in all competitions, scoring 23 times.
Benefitting from the pair’s brilliance, Liverpool have won it all in the last few years, including the UEFA Champions League, one Premier League title, and an FA Cup.
Gary Neville Explains Why He Would Have Picked Virgil van Dijk Over Mohamed Salah For Manchester United
Picking one Liverpool legend over the other is a tough ask. Neville, however, did not hesitate to pick the center-back over the right-winger, owing to the ex-Southampton man’s leadership skills. On The Overlap podcast, he said (via Mirror):
“I would take Van Dijk [over Salah].”
When asked to explain, he added:
“I just think that Van Dijk would bring dominance to the team and a presence in the team that we haven’t got. We haven’t got a forward as good as Mo Salah, but we’ve got talented forwards.”
Neville then went on to compare Van Dijk with other Premier League greats, including Manchester United’s Roy Keane and Chelsea’s John Terry.
Neville continued:
“I always think if you’ve got a spine of strength and presence… We always say, don’t we, ‘Oh, there’s no Roy Keanes anymore, there’s no Vincent Kompanys anymore, there’s no John Terrys’ – there actually is one now at Liverpool, when you think about how he’s performed this season, Van Dijk. He’s a massive presence on that pitch.
“He’s not the same character as some of those that I’ve mentioned, but he actually is quite dominant on the pitch, he speaks a lot more than people might think and he actually is someone you can see that’s got an aura about him. And I think that if you want to change Manchester United’s complete and utter culture, then they need that dominant person who holds them together. And I think Van Dijk would control [Kobbie] Mainoo, even someone like Antony or [Marcus] Rashford. I think he would build them, not break them.”
Van Dijk and Liverpool will return to Premier League action with a clash against Sheffield United on Thursday night (April 4).
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