Claude Puel has compared Virgil van Dijk and Harry Maguire and pinpointed where the Liverpool man excels ahead of his Premier League rival.
Puel thinks Van Dijk is strong and quicker than the England international and believes both big-money centre-halves are "perfect" for the modern game.
Puel said: "I like them both. Two modern profiles, built for Premier League, to perform on free-kicks, corner kicks, and play inside the box.
"But they are also perfect in the modern style of play. They are good tacticians who have the specialty of having defensive abilities. To me Van Dijk is stronger than Maguire physically but Maguire is very smart, he improved a lot on his anticipation skills.
"Due to his height, he is a little bit slower than Van Dijk but he compensates with a very good game reading and anticipation."