Virgil van Dijk, football | Van Dijk praises his teammate:

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk (31) is considered one of the best defenders in the world.

The goalkeeper is in many ways credited with the clear lift Liverpool’s defense received after arriving from Southampton in 2018.

However, Van Dijk did not let the opportunity pass him by when he was recently asked to comment on one of his younger teammates: fellow Dutch national teammate Jörn Timber (21).

The Liverpool goalkeeper himself has spent time establishing himself at the top level in Europe, including after playing under Rooney Dela at Scotland’s Celtic.

There is still a lot of potential

– Of course, I wasn’t even close to his age. I have nothing but praise to offer him. And it still has a lot of potential, and that’s only positive, Virgil van Dijk stated about Timber, which has been reproduced by others. de Telegraaf.

The young Netherlands goalkeeper has managed to break into the Eredivisie since playing his way to a permanent position at Ajax during the 2020-21 season.

And after making his national team debut last year, Timber has gradually become a permanent player in one form or another, as one of the other central defenders alongside Liverpool’s veteran defensive rock.

– I hope he continues to show the same and develops further. And then I think he’d be fine, adds Virgil van Dijk.

Rumors about United

Among other things, Jurrïen Timber has been linked with Manchester United in the summer transfer window. Eric Ten Hag, his former Ajax coach, took over as manager at Old Trafford before the season.

Ten Hag brought in Lisandro Martinez (24), another central defender from Ajax, and winger Anthony (22), from the Dutch champions over the summer.

For the Timbers, the choice fell instead to a contract extension with the big team from Amsterdam in August.

The 21-year-old from Utrecht has admitted he is not sure if he could miss the chance to play Champions League football with Ajax. Timber eventually settled on choosing to stay at Ajax, stating that changing the club ahead of this winter’s soccer World Cup was not ideal.

note: Jörn Timber and Virgil van Dijk will start when the Netherlands meet neighboring Belgium in a match at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam on Sunday.