(Video) ‘You can hear him coming…’

Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo won’t be able to forget coming up against Virgil van Dijk in a hurry!

The Ghanaian was asked in a feature for Earn Your Stripes to name the hardest defender he’s faced in his career, and the Liverpool captain was the instant answer.

Recalling his encounter against the Dutchman when the Cherries beat us 1-0 in March 2023, the 24-year-old said: “Hardest defender? Virgil van Dijk.

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“That year that I signed, we beat them. I came on in that game. I remember running in behind. All I can hear is this man’s footsteps – dum, dum, dum, dum – chasing me and I’m thinking ‘This guy’s fast!’

“He’s 6 foot 4, 6 foot 5 and he is fast. He’s got presence. You can hear him coming. I’m trying to focus on getting my shot across and I’m thinking ‘he’s ducking me’. It puts me off completely. His aura put me off and I dragged the ball wide. I’m thinking ‘aw man!’. He’s tough.”

Van Dijk continues to command massive respect from his Premier League peers, with Semenyo’s comments coming to light within hours of William Saliba also praising the Liverpool captain’s ‘aura’.

When several players who are operating in the English top flight are left so awestruck by the 31-year-old, it’s quite the endorsement of his world-class talents. Long may he continue putting fear into the Reds’ opponentd!

You can view Semenyo’s comments below, via earnyourstripeshow on TikTok:

@earnyourstripeshow Antoine Semenyo says Van Dijk is the hardest defender #premierleague #football #vandijk ♬ original sound – Earn Your Stripes