As Erling Haaland continues to be linked with a Premier League move, his views on Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk suggest any battle between the pair in England would be an engrossing one..
Haaland described Van Dijk as the toughest defender he has faced, but the respect between the two superstars is clearly mutual.
While the Liverpool defender didn't quite make the cut for Haaland's top three players in the world, there's every chance more meetings in the Premier League could change that.
The Norway international looks unlikely to move to Manchester United despite the arrival of Ralf Rangnick, but other English clubs could yet remain in the hunt, and plenty of fans would love to see him test himself against Van Dijk again after some intriguing early meetings.
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Haaland has played against Van Dijk on three previous occasions, scoring twice.
Two of those meetings came between Red Bull Salzburg and Liverpool in the 2019-20 Champions League, with Haaland netting in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield but drawing a blank when the teams met in Austria.
He also scored in a 1-1 home draw with the Netherlands during Norway's unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign, though he missed the return game in Rotterdam through injury as Van Dijk and his teammates earned a vital 2-0 win.
The Netherlands qualified for the tournament in Qatar as group winners, but Haaland and Norway will miss out after finishing third in their group behind Turkey.
"You know how tall he is, how strong he is and how fast he is, and also the timing is crazy," Haaland told ESPN.
"I don't think I won one duel against him because he's a physical monster."
It is not the first time he has praised the Dutchman, previously saying "I do not really fear anyone, I think he is the best defender" before he clashed with Van Dijk on international duty in September.
"He is fast, strong and 'bad' smart, and there are three important things you must have... I have said that he is the best I have met."
The feeling is very much mutual, though, with Van Dijk explaining last year why Haaland is so difficult to play against.
"Haaland is a special striker, because he's so strong, he's quick, he's got all the attributes to make a defender's life very difficult," the Dutchman told Sky Sports in October.
"The first time [I played him] was when he came on at Anfield. He was at Salzburg and he got a tap-in and he scored.
"Obviously in the away game he didn't. He got subbed after 65 minutes or something but it was a very tough one, he was very quick, aggressive, very direct."
