Manchester United icon picks Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk as his ideal centre-back pairing ahead of ex-Arsenal and Chelsea stars
Manchester United great Jaap Stam has picked Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk as his ideal centre-back pairing ahead of former Arsenal and Chelsea defenders Tony Adams and John Terry. The former Dutch defender has also offered some advice to the Liverpool and Netherlands skipper.
Stam is regarded as one of the finest defenders of his era and one of the best to have ever graced the Premier League. He had a rather short but illustrious spell with Manchester United between 1998 and 2001, during which he helped the Red Devils win their famous treble.
On the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Stam was asked which Premier League centre-back he would have loved to play alongside. Gary Neville suggested several names for his former Manchester United teammate as did former Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
Wright suggested that former Arsenal defender Tony Adams would've been a great partner for Stam. Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher named Chelsea legend John Terry and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk as contenders.
However, Stam picked Liverpool skipper and his compatriot Van Dijk out of the options because he is a quality defender. The Manchester United legend said, as quoted by Liverpool World:
"I’d keep it Dutch, I’d play alongside Virgil van Dijk. It would be a good partnership. I like the others but Virgil is a very good player.”
Stam also insisted that Van Dijk could still improve as a player if he could improve his positioning awareness. He added:
"There are certain things he can improve and do differently. If his positioning is a little bit better he can solve a lot of things for himself and for his teammates as well."
Van Dijk has been excellent for Liverpool since his £75 million switch from Southampton in 2018. The Dutchman made an immediate impact at the club and has won everything with the Reds.
Van Dijk has made 237 appearances for Jurgen Klopp's side and currently leads the Merseyside giants after Jordan Henderson's exit to Saudi Arabia.
Dwight Yorke urges Manchester United star to step up his performance
Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke slammed Red Devils winger Antony and has insisted that the Brazilian must deliver more often.
Antony came up with another poor showing in the Red Devils' 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, December 12. They crashed out of the competition by finishing at the rock bottom of group A behind Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen, and Galatasaray.
After the game, Yorke hit out at Antony for his below-par showings for the club, saying on InstantCasino, as quoted by Goal:
"People must be having a laugh if they're praising Antony for putting in some decent performances - he was £85 million. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but we need to be frank - Anthony just hasn't been good enough. It's all well and good producing the occasional decent performance, but that shouldn't be an acceptable benchmark at Man United."
Yorke added:
"I appreciate that every player needs time to settle in, but Antony is another player who needs to man up. He needs to blitz down that right-hand side, cut in, assist, and score goals - that's what they paid £85 million for. The discussion around Antony becoming an OK footballer is nonsense. He cost £85 million. He has to be better than that."
Antony has struggled to live up to expectations following his switch to Manchester United from Ajax for a massive transfer fee of a reported £85 million. He is yet to either score or assist this season having already made 17 appearances across competitions.