Burnley manager Sean Dyche has hailed the organisational and leadership skills of Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutchman was crowned UEFA Men's Player of the Year last night, beating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the gong in a star-studded ceremony in Monaco.
As a result, the former Southampton man is now favourite to claim this year's Ballon d'Or in December, after a stellar campaign that saw the defender help his side claim the Champions League and take them to within a point of claiming the Premier League title.
And Dyche, speaking ahead of his side's game against the unbeaten Reds tomorrow, believes the 28-year-old has become more vocal and is now showing the type of leadership qualities that all the best centre halves have.
"Liverpool have got the strength in the defensive side of things, I think as a unit they have improved," the Turf Moor boss told LancsLive .
"Van Dijk gets a lot of praise and rightly so because he is a fantastic player but the unit has improved I think at Liverpool.
"I think Van Dijk is a top player in every way and even in him, from an outsider looking in, I think his leadership qualities and the way he runs the backline, has improved. That is my impression of it from a distance.
"He seems to organise things more and voice things more which I think all the best centre halves do."
