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Liverpool star Van Dijk bags another gong as he's named Premier League Player of the Season

The Netherlands international beat the likes of Raheem Sterling, Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah to the award following a stellar campaign.

LIVERPOOL DEFENDER VIRGIL Van Dijk been named the Premier League Player of the Season following a memorable campaign for the Netherlands international.

Signed for ยฃ75 million (โ‚ฌ86.7m) from Southampton in January 2018, Van Dijk has helped revolutionise the Redsโ€™ 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 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 Salahโ€™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 Liverpoolโ€™s 37 Premier League matches this term, helping them to 20 clean sheets while scoring four goals at the other end of the pitch.

Those performances have helped Liverpool to keep the pressure on defending champions Man City at the top of the table heading into the final day of the season.

Victory for Pep Guardiolaโ€™s side at Brighton will see them named English champions for the fourth time in the Premier League era, but anything less could allow Van Dijk and the Reds to sneak and claim top spot for themselves.

Jurgen Kloppโ€™s side host Wolves on the final day of the campaign after a memorable season that has seen them defeated just once in the league and accrue a record-breaking 94 points from their first 37 matches.

And though they may not prove to be enough come close of play on Sunday, the five-time European champions could still end the campaign with silverware having booked their place in the Champions League final.

Klopp will take his squad to Madrid for the showpiece event on June 1 following their remarkable comeback against Barcelona in the semi-finals, with Liverpool winning 4-0 in the second leg following a 3-0 defeat at Camp Nou six days earlier.

They will face first-time finalists and fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham at the Wanda Metripolitano after Mauricio Pochettinoโ€™s side pulled off their own come-from-behind win to knock out Ajax in the last four.

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    Mute Willy Motley
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    May 12th 2019, 1:11 PM

    Trolls going into meltdown over this

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    Mute John Connolly
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    May 12th 2019, 1:17 PM

    @Willy Motley: Why,most people will agree heโ€™s been the best player in the league this season,

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    Mute Cryptoalcho
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    May 12th 2019, 1:40 PM

    @John Connolly: exactly!!! Deliousnal pool supporters creating something from nothing.

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    Mute themansam
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    May 12th 2019, 1:48 PM
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    Mute Pat Mustard
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    May 12th 2019, 2:50 PM

    @Willy Motley: fool

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    Mute Seaniecp
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    May 12th 2019, 4:01 PM

    @John Connolly: he has. Fair play john

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    May 12th 2019, 1:31 PM

    Heโ€™s our centre half, heโ€™s our number four.
    Watch him defend and watch him score.

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    Mute Johnny Ryan
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    May 12th 2019, 1:41 PM

    @Hardly Normal: youโ€™ve just completed dreaded the chant. Congrats

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    Mute Johnny Ryan
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    May 12th 2019, 1:41 PM

    @Johnny Ryan: completely deaded*

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    Mute Danny Mcn
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    May 12th 2019, 1:53 PM

    @Johnny Ryan: neither of those comments make sense

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    May 12th 2019, 2:07 PM

    @Johnny Ryan: donโ€™t know what youโ€™re trying to say

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    Mute Buzz O Sullivan
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    May 12th 2019, 1:09 PM

    Goat

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    Mute Harry Corry
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    May 12th 2019, 2:27 PM

    And rightly so too. Class player and leader

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    Mute Mark Meaney
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    May 12th 2019, 2:54 PM

    He deserves it.What a master stroke Klopp made signing this guy.Even as a united fan ,I can only admire him for the great player he is.

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    Mute Pat Mustard
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    May 12th 2019, 2:56 PM

    Class player but he wouldnโ€™t stand out if he was in that city team tbh, Laporte otamendi and stones would have similar impacts had they gone to Liverpool

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    Mute Pat Mustard
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    May 12th 2019, 2:53 PM

    Class act on and off the field but letโ€™s be honest if he was playing for city he wouldnโ€™t stand out. Laporte otamendi and even stones would have had a similar impact if they were put into that Liverpool team

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    Mute Mark Fitzpatrick
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    May 12th 2019, 4:37 PM

    Like Gereard no premiership medal

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    Mute Enda Layng
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    May 12th 2019, 10:18 PM

    What happens when Barca or Real come calling? He will be no different than Suarez or Coutihno .

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    Mute Bryn Capstan
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    May 12th 2019, 4:38 PM

    Bus tour for da gongs. COYS

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