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Van Dijk is the best defender in the world, and this Premier League player is second – opinion

There are striking similarities between the two best defenders in the world at the moment. Both play in record-breaking English teams and both joined their clubs in January 2018. But while Virgil Van Dijk rightly receives the plaudits of football fans all over the world, Aymeric Laporte does not receive the same recognition.

Few defenders in world football have had as large an impact on a football club as Virgil Van Dijk has at Liverpool FC. Arriving two years ago for what was at the time a world record transfer fee for a defender, he transformed the Reds backline overnight to a dominant force both domestically and in Europe.

Laporte’s arrival in English football was not as noticeable. The Frenchman joined at the end of the same window from Athletic Bilbao for a hefty £57 million and was thrust straight into the side.

Van Dijk turned a relatively weak defensive unit into world-beaters. Laporte entered an extremely high-quality cohort of defenders and unexpectedly jumped right to the top of the pile.

It is understandable that Virgil Van Dijk attracted more media attention, given his protracted and acrimonious exit from Southampton had been expected for months. While the Dutchman’s impact is easy to see on the pitch, Aymeric Laporte’s is becoming more evident by the day while he stays off it.

The 25-year-old suffered a long term knee injury in September and is expected to be out until January at the earliest. In the time he has been out, City’s defence has rarely looked solid, culminating in disappointing losses to Norwich and Wolves and a damning 3-1 defeat to Van Dijk’s Liverpool.

It is striking just how much worse City look at the back without him. While Liverpool have not had to cope without their own star defender for any significant period since he signed, the impact could hardly be as obvious as at City.

These two players are the best defenders in the world right now. It’s only a lack of international football that has so far cost Aymeric Laporte his own place among conversations about the Ballon d’Or. He was called up to the France squad in September, before cruelly suffering his injury two days later.

The usual names of Ramos and Chiellini are past their best, while Raphael Varane has struggled to maintain the form that saw him pick up a Champions League and World Cup double in 2018.

Newcomers Matthijs De Ligt and Kalidou Koulibaly are rightfully considered amongst the world elite in 2019, but have yet to show the consistency of Laporte.

It’s time we put Aymeric Laporte and Virgil Van Dijk in their own bracket at the very top.

Sam Hanys

A miserable Ipswich Town fan.

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