Pundit makes Ronaldo, Van Dijk claim that no Man Utd fan wants to hear
Outspoken pundit Simon Jordan believes the top Premier League defenders such as Virgil van Dijk won’t be sweating the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Man Utd.
The Portuguese legend has returned to Man Utd 12 years after leaving for Real Madrid in 2009. At 36, questions have been raised as to precisely how potent Ronaldo will be on his second stint in England. However, after notching 36 and 37 goals respectively in his last two seasons with Juventus, it would appear unlikely his return will flop.
Ronaldo has not been brought back to Man Utd as a simple marketing exercise or nostalgia trip.
Combined with the signings of Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be confident of ending the club’s four-year trophy drought and launching a genuine title tilt.
However, speaking in his role as a pundit on talkSPORT, Jordan has questioned whether Ronaldo will be able to make a difference in the big matches.
Furthermore, he claimed elite defenders like Liverpool ace Van Dijk won’t have the “fear of god” put in them by a 36-year-old Ronaldo.
“In the big games I don’t think Ronaldo’s going to put the fear of god into Virgil van Dijk,” Jordan said on talkSPORT. “I don’t think Ronaldo will put fear into some of these central defences.
“But he will probably fear of god into Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers or Burnley or Brentford or Newcastle United.
“I know he’s a big game player. But if you got big occasion players who play against proper centre-backs we will see if Ronaldo is still able to turn the screw at a level that I question he’ll be able to do.”
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Haaland lauds Van Dijk with X-rated compliment
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland has labelled a Liverpool man as the world’s best in his position and says he’s relishing locking horns with him again during the next international break.
With the majority of transfer deadlines now up, the focus will switch to the international break. And there’s a great tie to get the fixtures going when Norway host the Netherlands in their World Cup qualifier.
The game will see Virgil van Dijk facing Haaland for the third time in their careers. Having previously met when RB Salzburg faced Liverpool in the Champions League, Haaland knows he’s in for a tough night.
“I think he is the best defender,” he told reporters, via TV2. “I think quite a few others in the room agree with me on that.
“He is fast, strong and f****** smart, and those are three important things you must have. I have played against him twice and he is the best I have met. He is a good player, so we have to try to play around him.”
In response, VG quote Van Dijk as saying: “Did he say that? That was kind of him.”
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