Roy Keane says only Virgil van Dijk would get in the 1999 United side

Roy Keane believes that out of the current Liverpool squad, only Virgil van Dijk would be good enough to get in Manchester United's 1998-99 treble-winning team.

Keane and his Sky Sports co-pundit Jamie Carragher debated the topic of a combined XI after United's 2-0 win over Chelsea on Monday night, and as legends of their respective clubs, they understandably had a few disagreements.

However, both agreed that van Dijk should make the team over Ronny Johnsen, praising the Dutchman for his form and the way he has turned Liverpool's defence around since arriving.

'I don't think it's a big decision, put van Dijk in next to [Jaap] Stam,' said Carragher. 'But who's the best out of those two?'

'I'm a big fan of van Dijk,' replied Keane. 'The guy's a machine, but Jaap was a machine, Jaap was fantastic. Van Dijk a touch better on the ball. The two of them together you can't imagine conceding too many goals.'

There were plenty of disagreements about the rest of the team though, as the pair argued over the likes of Ryan Giggs, Sadio Mane, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

'Giggs is not getting in my team,' said Carragher, while almost stunned Keane to silence.

'Judging him on the 1999 season,' Carragher continued. 'Do you know how many goals he scored that season? I think Mane is the best left-sided winger in the world. Giggs, one of the best, but I don't think at any stage he was the best.'

Despite Giggs only scoring three times in the league during that season, Keane argued over his former team-mate's consistency, saying: 'Giggs did it year in, year out. Look what Giggsy did in the semi-final [of the FA Cup], tell me another player on this planet that could've done what he did against Arsenal. The key to me is being a consistent player. I've got loyalty towards Giggsy, I don't know Mane.'

Carragher opted for Dwight Yorke up front, flanked by Mane and Mohamed Salah on either side, which was another point of contention, with Keane unable to break up the duo of Yorke and Andy Cole.

And while he originally agreed that Alexander-Arnold could make the team over Gary Neville at right-back, Keane later went back and said that only van Dijk would be good enough, joking that Neville often gets him tickets to Salford games.

'I'd bring van Dijk in, maybe the right-back, but leave the rest, 4-4-2. If they go on and win the treble this year, we'll have a different conversation.'

If Liverpool do manage to pull off the same feat as United, Keane conceded that he would bring in Salah and Mane to the team. Liverpool are currently on course to win the Premier League, and are still involved in the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Both were in agreement over Keane's own inclusion in the team, although he was humble about his role, saying: 'I was a very average player, very lucky, I always worked with very good players.'

Liverpool continue their quest for silverware as they take on Atletico Madrid on Tuesday in the Champions League, while Manchester United travel to Club Brugge for a Europa League encounter on Thursday.