Virgil van Dijk closes gap on Premier League record amid John Terry debate

Virgil van Dijk found the back of the net again for Liverpool as the Reds boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League by beating West Ham on Saturday

Liverpool center-back Virgil van Dijk is having another great season(Image: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk moved into second spot in the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts for center-backs this weekend with his header against West Ham helping to send the Reds on the way to an important win.

Van Dijk doubled his side's lead at Anfield on Saturday, with Hugo Ekitike having opened the scoring. Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo also scored, with an own-goal rounding things off nicely for Liverpool.

Now on 28 goals in the league for Liverpool, only Chelsea legend John Terry (with 41) has scored more Premier League goals among central defenders, excluding penalties, in the competition's history.

Recently, Terry has moved to stake his claim for being better than Van Dijk after being irked by a debate on talkSPORT involving former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant.

"Everyone has their opinion, but it should be backed by stats," Terry said.

"I hold the records for most goals and clean sheets by a defender, and at 34 I played every minute of Chelsea’s 2014/15 title-winning season under Jose Mourinho."

Virgil van Dijk is one of the best Premier League defenders of all time(Image: Getty Images)

That was an opinion shared by the former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris, who played with Terry and later became a coach with the Stamford Bridge side.

"If you're picking a Premier League best XI, if anyone picks another centre-half over JT and Rio, then they're not taking it seriously," said Morris, speaking on In The Mixer.

"On Van Dijk, it is [a recency bias]. Van Dijk is an unbelievable player. But if you want to go to the Premier League's best, JT and Rio have to be your two centre-backs. They just have to.

"It's longevity. I'm not playing down Virgil van Dijk as a player here. But you go, he was at Groningen, then Celtic, then Southampton.

"If you think about those first little six or seven years, JT and Rio are playing in the Premier League. One has won the league five times as captain, the most ever.

"That's the only thing. You can't pick [Van Dijk]. I actually think there are other center-halves that come after them that are still getting in over Virgil. I think you still would have to pick people like Sol Campbell and Tony Adams."

The debate about Van Dijk in comparison to Terry and the likes of Rio Ferdinand will continue. More importantly, so will the Dutchman in leading his team towards the Champions League spots.

Liverpool.com says: Purely in terms of his level, Van Dijk can match or even better anyone. Terry did it for longer, but the Reds captain at his peak was unbeatable and he remains the best around even now.