Van Dijk hails Barcelona's Cubarsi as outstanding talent

Barcelona's young gem Pau Cubarsi has garnered praise from Virgil van Dijk, who is regarded as one of the world's best defenders.

When asked about Cubarsi during a mixed zone interview, the Dutch defender's face brightened and eagerly participated in the discussion about the young Spaniard.

"I think he's a huge talent, a special player. To be playing at this level at 18 years old, as you said, is already impressive," Van Dijk highlighted, describing Cubarsi as "outstanding". 

The Liverpool centre-back highlighted the similarities between their styles of play, noting in particular Cubarsi's long-passing ability, a skill of which Van Dijk is also proud.

"He's not the typical Barcelona style because Pau likes to play long passes too, a lot, and he's good at it. And that's something I like to do as well," Van Dijk observed. 

The Dutch captain's praise comes shortly after Cubarsí named Van Dijk as the best current centre-back outside of Barcelona in a recent interview with Mundo Deportivo. 

The Reds player expressed his sympathy for Cubarsi's recent injury, and was optimistic about the young player's potential: "I was sad for him because obviously he got injured, but I think he's very talented and we have a player with a bright future.