Kompany: Van Dijk is the greatest ever defender in Premier League history

Vincent Kompany has explained why he believes Virgil van Dijk is the greatest ever defender in Premier League history.

The four-time Premier League winner hailed the current Liverpool centre-back as the best he has seen in the top-flight last year, even though he had come up against the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand during his City days.

But Van Dijk, who helped Liverpool reach a Champions League final within six months of joining them before helping them go one step further a year later, has been instrumental in his side's rise to the top.

And while Van Dijk is yet to claim a Premier League winner's medal, Kompany still thinks Van Dijk is the greatest centre-back and has hailed the impact he has made at Anfield.

"The reason why I said it is because Liverpool were a great team before Virgil van Dijk arrived,” he told BBC's Football Focus.

"Yet they were always vulnerable. I never felt that supremacy that they showed this year.

"It's very difficult to have a player that has such a big impact at a big club.

"He has brought back old-school defending with a modern twist - and I respect that.

"What he does is simple but it's so effective. It's such an art which I respect."