Van Dijk's defensive stats better than any City defender since joining Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has been the main man when it comes to keeping the defensive ship at Liverpool steady. His individual performance help to inspire and encourage his team-mates into stepping their game up to match his own.

The way in which he has set standards such as never being dribbled past in a whole season, or simple consistent communication to reassure his team-mates, as well as laying into them when required has been vital to Liverpool.

But it could have been all so different. For starters, he could have been playing in Manchester for Pep Guardiola's City, where he would definitely have won more trophies. But one thing that wouldn't have changed is his ability to slot into a world-class side.

Manchester City very nearly snapped up the Liverpool and Dutch superstar midway through the 2017-18 season. This shocking revelation came in the Amazon Prime documentary 'All or Nothing' when chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, director of football Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano were discussing potential targets and how much it would cost to bring them to the Etihad.

When Mubarak was informed of how much it would cost to bring Van Dijk to the club, he quickly poured cold water on the potential deal. His reaction said it all: 'You can't be serious!'

City had decided that £76million was too much for the Dutchman and that there was better value for money out there. The search for a fit and reliable defender continued.

City ended up signing French centre back Aymeric Laporte last January for a fee of £57m from Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao. He went on to make just nine appearances in the second-half of that season.

It looked like a lot of money to spend on someone whose role appeared to be playing second fiddle to John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi. Especially when an extra £20m could have got them a first-team starter in Van Dijk.

Fast forward to the current season, and Van Dijk has since asserted himself amongst the world's best footballers. He is a vital piece to Liverpool's spine and played a major role in their Champions League success last season.

And, amazingly, no player even managed to dribble past him in the entire 2018-19 season. Van Dijk uses his towering and daunting physique to isolate opposition attackers.

His natural-born leadership is a key reason why he has tasted success on a personal level and it has also helped Liverpool to achieve what they have in recent seasons.

Liverpool have world-class players with leadership characteristics all across the pitch, the team as a whole have an admirable mentality which many teams can only dream of – just look how they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Aston Villa last weekend.

Every team needs characters like James Milner who will scrap for every ball, every team needs a natural-born leader like Jordan Henderson and every team needs an imposing, loud centre back and Van Dijk fits the bill.

A standout leader and consistent performer, he has earned his praise. All that's needed as testament to how good he is, is a Ballon d'Or.

Liverpool had been crying out for a defender to tighten them up at the back and that's what Van Dijk has given them. People watch football to watch the art of scoring goals, but watching the art of defending can be just as satisfying.

Watching Van Dijk shepherd opposition players out or dominate them in the air or spark attacks with accurate forward passes is a real treat to behold.

A defender hasn't won the Ballon d'Or since 2006 — Fabio Cannovaro won it that year — and it's about time they got more recognition.

Van Dijk has been so good since joining Liverpool, he deserves to be seriously considered for this year's prestigious award. If he was to win it, he would become only the fourth defender to do so in the award's 63-year history. Franz Beckenbauer, Matthias Sammer and Cannavaro are the only ones to have scooped the prize.

While Laporte has proved to be a decent signing for City, he has not made the impact Van Dijk has at Liverpool. Sportsmail have taken a closer look look at the stats to see how Van Dijk lines up with City's defenders since he made the move to Merseyside.

The stats show that the Holland international is outperforming all of them and is far superior when it comes to asserting his dominance in games. His duel success percentage is much higher than any City defender and he has only been dribbled past three times and has more interceptions. Van Dijk has also won the most games when playing, which highlights his importance.

Going into this weekend's highly anticipated top of the table clash, City are without Laporte and defender Stones. Leaving Otamendi and makeshift centre back Fernandinho with the task of keeping the best team in Europe's prolific front three quiet.

This is a crucial fixture which could very well shape the title race and although Guardiola can't lose anymore hair over the dilemma, his lack of options in defence will certainly be giving him a nasty headache.

A win could see City move within three points of the league leaders, but a loss would see Liverpool stretch their advantage at the top to nine points. The stakes couldn't be higher. You wonder if City would be feeling a bit more confident if they had the assured presence of Van Dijk at the heart of their defence.