Van Dijk becomes second defender to win Premier League Player of the Season award

Liverpool: Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been named Premier League Player of the Season. By doing so, he became the first defender to win the Player of the Season award in seven seasons, after Manchester City's Vincent Kompany in 2011-12.

"It's a great honour and I'm very proud. 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," Premier League official website quoted Van Dijk as saying.

"I think the whole season in the Premier League has been outstanding. The only thing is we have been competing with another team that's pretty good. But I think it's a joy to watch, this title race, for neutral fans," he added.