Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool is expected to be "well up there" in the running for the PFA Player of the Year award for the upcoming season, according to Paul Merson.
Images provided by Matthias Hangst/Getty
The Reds center back earned the renowned award in 2019 after contributing to Jurgen Klopp's team's 21 league shutouts that year.
With an incredible 97 points, Liverpool finished second behind Manchester City with just one league game lost.
Manchester Van Dijk
Getty Images has this image by Xavier Ballart.
The Reds then went on to defeat Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final, winning it in Madrid.
Ever since he transferred from Southampton to Liverpool in January 2018, Van Dijk has been a key member of the Reds' team.
It was wonderful.
In an article for Sportskeeda, Merson predicted that the superstar making £220,000 a week would once again be a contender for the PFA POTY award.
As we've seen throughout the years, defendants don't frequently receive this honor, he wrote.
"Therefore, it was wonderful to see Virgil van Dijk win the trophy in the 2018–19 campaign.
As was the case with Salah, the Liverpool defender "is certain to play a major role once more and may be right up there."
Kevin De Bruyne won the prize in 2020 and 2021, while Mohamed Salah won it last season and in 2017–18.
Merson predicted Van Dijk, Salah, and Erling Haaland to be contenders, but he believed De Bruyne would triumph once more in 2023.
"I picked Manchester City to win the Premier League, and if that happened, I had no choice but to give the PFA Player of the Year award to Kevin de Bruyne.
He is, in my opinion, the best player in the league and has already won it twice. He also produced a number of outstanding performances in the second half of the 2021–22 season to elevate himself to the front-runner position before falling short to Salah.
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