5) Virgil van Dijk (Southampton and Liverpool)

Van Dijk

We could have easily put Jaap Stam on this list. After all, the Dutchman did win the famous treble during his first season at Manchester United but van Dijk’s impact on his team, in general, was more significant.

Liverpool would not have managed to win the Champions League and the Premier League in successive seasons without him. You also have to factor in that he won the PFA Player of the Year and came close to winning Ballon d’Or; no mean feat for a centre-half.


David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.