Watch: ‘He’s never had…’ – Ex-Chelsea striker reckons he could have given Van Dijk a hard time in his heyday

Originally posted on Empire of the Kop | By Wash N'Gog | Last updated 5/28/22

Carlton Cole’s private belief that he could have caused some mischief coming up against Virgil van Dijk was outed by his fellow BT Sport pundit in a preview ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Real Madrid.

With all due respect to the former Chelsea hitman, we’d argue that he’s never come across anyone quite as formidable as the Dutch international during his playing career.

At the absolute least, our No.4 is one of the leading centre-halves in Premier League and European history and will only further clamber up the leaderboard if he can help the Reds secure their seventh Champions League crown.

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of BT Sport:

"I don't think he's really been challenged like with the old school strikers"

"He's never had a Carlton Cole elbow!"

"Benzema will be a different test"@CarltonCole1 & Joe Cole believe Karim Benzema will pose a real threat for Virgil van Dijk tonight. #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/JF34J8kMpn

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 28, 2022