Phil Thompson says Liverpool once had another defender who was similar to Virgil van Dijk

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Liverpool have had some absolutely brilliant defenders over the years.

Say what you will about Jamie Carragher, but he was a really solid option for Liverpool for a long time, while Sami Hyypia was a brilliant club captain too.

Carragher remains a key figure among Liverpool fans as a pundit, and Carragher recently tipped Mohamed Salah for the Ballon d’Or too.

Going further back, Mark Lawrenson was a stalwart for the Reds throughout the 1980s, while Phil Thompson was also a very important figure at Anfield.

Of course, nowadays, Virgil van Dijk is Liverpool’s rock at the back. In fact, Van Dijk may be the best in the world at what he does.

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Phil Thompson has been discussing some of the great defenders from Liverpool’s history, and he’s reserved some special praise for Van Dijk.

The pundit says that Van Dijk is a special defender, but he also said there’s another player from Liverpool’s history who is quite similar.

Indeed, according to Thompson, Alan Hansen was similar to Van Dijk in terms of the qualities he possessed.

• READ MORE: Robbie Fowler says player who left Liverpool in 2015 was genuinely better than Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne

Alan Hansen was similar to Virgil van Dijk

Thompson spoke about his former teammate and how he reminds him of Van Dijk.

The pundit says that both Hansen and Van Dijk are excellent readers of the game, claiming that they can cruise through games and lead by example.

“Virgil has been quite something,” Thompson said.

“And the only one I could compare him with would be Alan Hansen. Because the two of them were quite similar. They read the game so well.

“They look so comfortable at times. And you know, very often, you don’t see them have to make sliding tackles or anything, which people are like, oh, yeah, yeah. When you’re a good player, you’re always in a position before that.

“And Big Al was like that. And Virgil cruises through games, even the biggest of games. He’s like that.

“Big Al wasn’t very vocal. Neither is Virgil. I mean, vocal. You do it in a way of how they play. You do it in a way of pointing fingers, getting the best out of them.”

Alan Hansen compared to Virgil van Dijk

Being compared to Alan Hansen as a Liverpool player is one of the biggest compliments you could possibly receive.

Indeed, while Van Dijk may be the more glamourous name these days, make no mistake about it, Hansen’s Liverpool legacy stands up there with the best of them.

In fact, when you compare what these two, Hansen comes out on top in terms of what he achieved at Anfield.

Unfortunately, due to the advent of the Premier League, a lot of Liverpool’s great players from this era can be forgotten, but they’re still some of the best to ever play the game.

Ian Rush was once labelled as better than Cristiano Ronaldo, and Hansen is very comparable to Van Dijk.

Liverpool’s younger fans may not realise it, but there are some truly world-class players scattered throughout the Reds’ history.