Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has been raving about the quality of central defender Virgil van Dijk.
It has been a successful first couple of months at Anfield for the 27-year-old, who currently earns £180,000-per-week (Spotrac), as the club reached the UEFA Champions League final and finished fourth in the Premier League.
The Reds defender, who joined the club from Southampton for £71million in January of this year, has made 22 appearances for the club so far, scoring one goal.
Former Anfield defender Jamie Carragher has been impressed with the Dutchman’s performances so far and believes he could turn out to be a bargain.
“They’ve got van Dijk, who was a huge amount of money, but I always say it doesn’t matter how much money you spend on a player – if he performs, he’ll look worth it,” Carragher told talkSPORT.
“In two or three years time, other centre-backs will go for big money and he’ll look like a bargain.”
OPINION
Carragher knows his stuff and is absolutely right about van Dijk. Liverpool saw a weakness in their squad in the winter transfer window and moved quickly to address the problem. Yes, they spent a massive amount of money but he will be a massive player at Liverpool for years to come and that fee will be more than paid for with the success they’ll enjoy on the pitch. The Dutch defender has now become one of the best central defenders in European football, not only is he a very natural defender and has all the standard attributes including pace, power, height, defensive awareness and heading ability, he can also compete with most midfielders technically, such is his ability on the ball. The Reds fans aren’t going to be bothered how much the club paid for his services if they manage to lift a few trophies over the next few seasons and with the signing of Alisson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri, that is beginning to look like a real possibility.
