Virgil van Dijk is a Rolls Royce: I would have loved to play alongside the Liverpool captain

Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Kolo Touré: Martin Keown has played alongside some of the Premier League's best centre-backs.

and the Arsenal Invincible has revealed that he would have loved Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk to have joined his list of world-class teammates.

Van Dijk He is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs the Premier League has ever seen.

Since his record transfer to Liverpool Coming from Southampton in the 2018 winter transfer window, the 33-year-old has made his £75million fee look like a bargain.

Many fans felt the former Celtic star was on the decline coming into this campaign, with some even claiming Liverpool should cash in on him with his contract expiring in 2025.

But having been part of a Liverpool side that is six points clear at the top (conceding just 19 goals), Van Dijk will be in the running for the Player of the Season award in May.

And Keown, who boldly left him out of his five best defenders term in November, has waxed lyrical about the player's supreme talents.

Speaking to talkSPORT.com, he was asked if he would have loved to play alongside the Dutchman.

To which he said: “My God, I don't think anyone will complain about playing with Virgil van Dijk!

“He plays on that left side, I liked to play on the right side.

“I especially like that he never lost possession.

“He's got that right foot, he plays like a stationary platform, he just sends things to (Mohamed) Salah – what a great target he is.”

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When asked what makes Van Dijk such a complete player, Keown stated: “He's a Rolls Royce.

“He's purring on the ground, he's got rhythm, he's a mountain man, he's very good in the air.”

Keown continued: “He's probably at the peak of his powers right now.

“He is another player that Liverpool will obviously look to retain, his contract expires at the end of the season.”

In what could be his last year at Anfield, Van Dijk has proven to be instrumental for Liverpool at both domestic and European level.

He has featured in all 19 of the club's top-flight matches so far, as well as each of their six Champions League group stage matches, helping his team to the top of the table in both fronts.

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And Liverpool fans will be desperate for him to extend his stay beyond the summer, although as things stand there is no progress in contract negotiations.

Speaking recently to Sky Sports, Van Dijk was asked if there had been any news regarding a possible stay, to which he simply replied: “Nothing.”

Commenting on whether he expects an update soon, he commented: “I don't think so, but I'm calm about it, as I said months ago.

“We'll see what happens in the future and right now I don't have any updates.”