Dutch journalist Henk Span blamed Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for the decline in Virgil van Dijk's playing career. In 2020, the Liverpool defender tore his cruciate knee ligaments in an EPL match after a collision with Pickford.
"It's been three years since Jordan Pickford injured Virgil van Dijk's knee. In the match against Ireland, there was a moment near the touchline when van Dijk was beaten by an opponent he would have dealt with without breaking a sweat.
After Pickford's tackle on van Dijk in Everton's match against Liverpool, Peter Crouch said on live TV that this was how you break a leg. Tony Cascarino compared Pickford to Roy Keane, who ended the career of Holland, the father of the Manchester City striker. It's obvious that Pickford, who didn't even get a card for that foul, is responsible for Virgil's career decline," Span told the Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool.