06 Sep 2025 01:10:11
I think VVD is world class and I love him, , but he’s coming up 34, who else out there come close to him?
Just curious for opinions, because I can’t see one now or up and coming.
06 Sep 2025 06:03:36
YLFP?
06 Sep 2025 06:28:13
Leoni is a great prospect, but my mate says he needs to improve his ballplaying. I liked Zabayni, but he’s gone to PSG. Push Pineapple is a bit too old to play successor. The Greek at Wolfsburg?
06 Sep 2025 06:47:42
Bastoni, VDV, saliba.
06 Sep 2025 06:47:51
Bastoni for me, but no idea if he’d leave Italy.
06 Sep 2025 07:50:45
Replacing a defender tends not be as big of a task as replacing other positions because good defences are so reliant on being strong as a unit. Clearly, good defenders are important, but defences can be made to be more than the sum of their parts far easier than midfield or attack can - there's no getting around it that elite attacks require elite individual quality.
That said, as far as centre-backs go, no individual player is anywhere close to Van Dijk. So when Van Dijk does leave, the goal should just be to build a good defence rather than 'replace' him.
Doing so can be achieved in a myriad of ways, but it won't be like it is now.
06 Sep 2025 07:57:40
Good luck with that.
06 Sep 2025 08:15:33
Like Salah and Alisson, they’re almost impossible to “replace” with a single name.
06 Sep 2025 10:44:35
VVD is not just defender, he is an organiser, strategist, and initiator of counter attacks from back by pinging the ball pinpoint upfront.