Virgil van Dijk may be regarded as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever centre-backs – but he is not in the top five list this season.
That is the view of Arsenal Invincible and former defender Martin Keown, who believes he is being outshone by his Liverpool partner Ibrahima Konate.
The pair have forged a formidable partnership at the back – conceding just six goals in the top-flight from 11 games.
Their relationship is one of the reasons that Arne Slot‘s side sit five clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
Konate didn’t even start in the season opener away at Ipswich, with Jarell Quansah preferred instead.
With Liverpool goalless at half-time, Slot brought in Konate for the England youngster due to his physicality.
And it’s a decision he has reaped the rewards from, with the Frenchman subsequently starting the following ten matches.
Meanwhile, William Saliba has been named in Keown’s list – despite Arsenal failing to keep a clean sheet in their last seven Premier League matches.
The Gunners boasted the division’s best defence last season – shipping in just 29 goals and keeping 18 clean sheets.
But injury setbacks has seen Mikel Arteta forced to constantly tinker his backline – though Saliba has still managed to catch Keown’s eye.
However there’s no room in the list for his partner Gabriel Magalhaes, who has been a standout performer in the last two years.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, here Keown runs you down his top five best centre-halves so far this season.
7
5. Wesley Fofana – Chelsea
“When I first saw him for play for Leicester, Fofana, I thought, ‘What a wonderful talent.’
“Quick, he smothers his opponents, gets around them, good with the ball, likes to travel out with it.
“He’s starting to now fulfil that potential when he went to Chelsea for huge amounts of money [£75million].
7
“I think Fofana deserves a shoutout for his performances.”
4. Micky van de Ven – Tottenham
“A word here for Spurs, Van de Ven is another player that I really think has caught the eye.
“I think he has to be in the mix as one of the best central defenders we’ve seen this this season.
“His pace, I would question why does he have to use that pace so often?
“He’s pulling his hamstring, so maybe they could adjust a little bit for him, but he’s really caught the eye.”
3. John Stones – Man City
7
“John Stones is a player that is showing me more now how important he is to Man City.
“The way that he plays, he’s a leader, the goals that he’s scoring at vital moments for his club.
“They’ve fallen away a little bit, but that’s certainly not his fault.”
2. William Saliba – Arsenal
“Saliba is absolutely class, he just purrs across the pitch, he’s like a Rolls Royce.
“Everything is done so measured, his temperament, he never gets too ruffled.
7
7
“Now he’s reading the game well and travelling out with the ball.
“So he’s very classy.”
1. Ibrahima Konate – Liverpool
“What I do see at Liverpool is Konate being quite outstanding, he’s probably gone ahead of Van Dijk.
“The way that he gets tight to people, his mobility, his confidence, every area of the game, he’s looking quite awesome.
“They’ve hardly conceded any goals this season, I know it’s about a partnership.
“But he looks like he’s coming out of the shadow at Van Dijk, so Konate is probably the best one for me.”
7
