Liverpool starlet Ki-Jana Hoever reckons Virgil van Dijk is so good that he is making it cool to be a defender.
Hoever, the Amsterdam-born 17-year-old who was given his debut by Jurgen Klopp as a substitute in the FA Cup defeat at Wolves in January, is watching Van Dijk's every move in a bid to learn the centre-back's art.
He has revealed that his fellow Dutchman is the cement that bonds Klopp's Premier League and Champions League chasers and hopes to eventually get the opportunity to partner him at senior level.
Hoever said: “Virgil is the best defender in the world – and I can say that with 100 percent certainty.
“He is so good that the great thing about Liverpool now is that it is not just the strikers and attackers in our team who get all the praise.
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“They used to always get the credit, but something has changed.
“People now understand and see the importance of great defending.
“And it isn't just watching him play against the best forwards in the world that makes me admire him.
“When I play alongside him in training I see all the details, his hunger for perfection, the way he coaches me, his positioning and his little comments towards me.
“He seems to be right all the time. I wonder, at those moments, why I did not see that or why I was not in that position before.
“That, for me, is pure class.”
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Hoever, who has played for Holland at youth level, added: “I hope that in a couple of years I can play next to van Dijk in defence.
“You can’t wish for a better mentor and tutor as a professional player.
“There is a little detail in Virgil’s game – that I call the shoulder. He is always looking over his shoulder.
“He is always aware what is going on around him. He has his own game to concentrate on, but he is paying attention to everyone else too.”
