Van Dijk named Premier League Player of the Season

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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been named the Premier League Player of the Season following a memorable campaign with the Reds.

Signed for £75 million ($95m) from Southampton in January 2018, Van Dijk has helped revolutionise the Reds’ backline this season as they battled for a first league title in 29 years.

The 27-year-old beat off the likes of Raheem Sterling, Eden Hazard and team-mates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to take the prize on Sunday after fan votes were combined with those of a panel of experts.

Manchester pair Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero joined club-mate Sterling on the seven-man shortlist for an award which has previously been won by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney and Thierry Henry.

Van Dijk becomes the second successive Liverpool player to win the prize following Salah’s success in 2017-18 and fourth overall, with Luis Suarez and Michael Owen having also taken home the award during their respective times at Anfield.

It is also the second illustrious gong that the former Celtic centre-back has won in recent times after he was named PFA Player of the Year in the closing weeks of the campaign.

In total, Van Dijk has played in each of Liverpool’s 37 Premier League matches this term, helping them to 20 clean sheets while scoring four goals at the other end of the pitch.

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Dean Workman