Van Dijk named Premier League Player of the Year

Virgil van Dijk said it was "a great honour" to be named the Premier League Player of the Season, after winning the votes of fans, team captains and a panel of experts.

The 27-year-old Liverpool centre-back is the first defender to win the award since Manchester City's Vincent Kompany did so in 2011-12, having played in all of Liverpool's 37 league matches ahead of their final-day clash with Wolves.

Across those 37 appearances, Van Dijk was part of a defence that kept 20 clean sheets and collected 29 victories, and the award comes after he was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year in April.

"It's a great honour and I'm very proud," Van Dijk told the Premier League's official website upon receiving his latest honour.

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— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) April 18, 2019

"Without everyone here at Liverpool, fans and players, it wouldn't be possible so I will definitely give them credit for all of it as well.

"I think the whole season in the Premier League has been outstanding."

Van Dijk succeeds Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah as the winner of the award, having beaten off competition from the Egyptian, Sadio Mane, Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Eden Hazard.