You won't BELIEVE who Martin Keown LEFT OUT of his top five Premier League centre-backs list

Liverpool’s defensive record this season is one of - if not the - reason that they currently top both the Premier League and the Champions League.

Only seven goals in 15 games across those competitions have passed centre-back pairing Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

This is nothing new for Van Dijk, of course, who has been one of the best centre-backs in the world for going on a decade now, but Konate has been a revelation under new head coach Arne Slot.

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Yet legendary Arsenal defender Martin Keown seems to think that Konate has surpassed Van Dijk as a centre-back, even going as far to suggest Van Dijk isn’t a top-five centre-back in the Premier League.

In a feature for talkSPORT, Keown named Konate the best centre-back in the league, saying: “He's probably gone ahead of Van Dijk… 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."

Isn’t this man meant to be a defender? One of the greatest the Premier League and the England international team has ever seen? Yet he’s willing to say “I know it’s about partnership” before excluding the partner from the list?

Instead, it’s worth realising that Konate has been able to elevate his level so much because he’s playing next to Van Dijk. You can afford to play with freedom and bravery knowing you have the world’s most effective safety blanket next to you.

The rest of the list, from fifth to second, contains Wesley Fofana, Micky van de Ven, John Stones and William Saliba. Particularly this season all of these players have some glaring flaws, so we decided to put together a more accurate list.

5 - Ezri Konsa

Konsa splits his time between centre-back and right-back but has been a stalwart in the middle for a team who are disrupting the established order both in England and in Europe. His 80% tackle success rate ranks third for all centre-backs in the Premier League, and for multiple seasons now he has provided the base from which Villa can build.

4 - Nikola Milenkovic

Speaking of disrupting the established order, Nottingham Forest have conceded the second-least goals in the league this season (behind Liverpool). Milenkovic is central to this - he ranks seventh for aerial duels won but passes the eye test better than basically any other centre-back in the league.

3 - William Saliba

Keown was right about one thing - William Saliba is very good. He leads the league with a 92.3% tackle success rate and Arsenal have looked lost without him.

2 - Ibrahima Konate

Ibou has been nothing short of sensational this season. His step up in quality, as mentioned before, has been essential to Liverpool’s continent-leading defence. He’s shown an unprecedented ability to win aerial duels and recover at a rate he hasn’t been consistent with in the past.

1 - Virgil van Dijk

But there is still no one better. Van Dijk may be slowing down a touch physically, but his technique is still unrivalled and ensures that he rarely, if ever, will be beaten by an attacker looking to get into a promising position. Most importantly, however, his ability to read play allows for Konate to excel in areas he hasn’t before either.

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