Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher claims Manchester City defender Ruben Dias is the best English Premier League, defender.
Carragher chooses Dias over his former club’s defender Virgil van Dijk. The Liverpool legend says he was so impressed with Dias’s performance in the Champions League semi-finals. City dump PSG out of the European League semi-final with a 4-1 aggregate.
However, there is no doubt Dias produced a phenomenal display over PSG on Tuesday night. The display led to Carragher’s claims that the defender is a “new breed.”
Carragher said, “I love him. I think he’s been the best player in the Premier League this season, I really do believe that.”
He added, “I think he’s had a huge effect on Manchester City. Even when he speaks and you watch him play you can’t believe he’s 23.”
Also, Carragher claims Dias plays like a 28-year-old yet he is just 23. He compares the young defender to his City teammate John Stones.
“John Stones next to him is 27-28 and you feel like it’s the other way around with John Stones and that’s no disrespect to John Stones,” Carragher said.
On Van Dijk, he added, “What I would say is that Van Dijk has been blessed with physical attributes that Dias hasn’t so in some ways I’m more impressed with Dias.”
“When you watch Van Dijk, it’s like watching a Rolls-Royce, you just think the way he moves. Most players don’t have that and Dias probably hasn’t got that so probably has to concentrate more and besides on constantly.
“We have seen Van Dijk over the last couple of years win the Champions League. I think the new breed is coming and this guy [Dias] is a massive part of it. The biggest thing for a center-back, in terms of body position. I think he’s the best by a long way in the Premier League,” the former pundit said.