Liverpool ace Virgil van Dijk honoured with own stand named after him at stadium

VIRGIL VAN DIJK's boyhood club has recognised the Liverpool star with his own stand at their youth stadium.

Dutch club Willem II announced the stand's renaming alongside a video featuring the 34-year-old visiting the stadium.

3 Virgil Van Dijk has been honoured by his boyhood club with a stand named after him at their youth stadium Credit: Alamy

3 Van Dijk spent 11 years in the youth ranks at Willem II in Tilburg Credit: Alamy

3 The Sportpark Prinsenhoeve has a new decor in its main stand Credit: Alamy

The club's accompanying statement read: "Willem II's youth academy unveiled a special tribute today: the main stand at Sportpark Prinsenhoeve will now bear the name ' Virgil van Dijk Tribune'.

"The naming of the stand is a special gift from the club to Van Dijk: a token of appreciation for the impressive career of the former Willem II youth player, who grew into one of the best defenders in the world."

The side currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football , after suffering relegation from the top tier last season.

Van Dijk joined the Tilburg-based club's youth ranks in 1999 at the age of eight.

He spent over a decade working his way up the age groups with the clubs, developing into the dominant defender we see today after spells playing across the back line.

However, the two-time Premier League winner never made a senior appearance for Willem, and was not offered a contract by the club at the age of 19.

He moved on a free transfer to Eredivisie outfit FC Groningen, where he would link up with future Southampton teammate Dusan Tadic .

The move kick-started a career that would see him move to the UK with Celtic in 2013, before switching to Southampton in the Premier League two years later.

He got his biggest move in late 2017, joining Liverpool for a fee of over £70million, a record fee for a defender at the time.

He has since become club captain at Anfield , and has won multiple Premier League titles and a Champions League alongside a host of domestic trophies.

In 2019, Van Dijk came second to Lionel Messi in the Ballon d'Or rankings, despite defenders being widely overlooked in voting for the award.

He has also risen to captain the Dutch national team .

The towering defender is now set to lead Liverpool on the hunt for a third Premier League title after their massive summer spending spree.

The Reds are off to a blinding start, taking a flawless nine points from three games, including a last-gasp win against title rivals Arsenal .