Gary Neville has admitted he made a mistake in his criticism of Virgil van Dijk’s big money move to Liverpool in January.
The former Manchester United defender openly questioned the £75million fee that the Reds paid Southampton for the Dutch international.
However the pundit has now changed his judgement: “I thought van Dijk was a good player at Southampton, but I didn’t think he was worth £75million,” he told The Gary Neville Podcast.
“And I didn’t think he would have the impact on Liverpool’s defence that he’s had. He’s a monster and is looking a bit like Jaap Stam. It looks like he just throws people out of the way.”
OPINION
It’s testament to the impact that van Dijk has had at Liverpool that Neville is praising him in this way, and even admitting he was wrong in his initial judgement of the move. £75million was, and still is, a hell of a lot of money to pay for a centre back – or any player – but it was an area of dire need for Liverpool. Similar to the signing of goalkeeper Alisson this summer, the Reds saw where they were weak and paid whatever it cost to address that weakness. Van Dijk is a smart footballer, technically excellent and a leader at the heart of the defence. He was exactly the player that Jurgen Klopp needed to sort out his ailing back four, and that’s what he’s done. His signing has positively impacted Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez, too, both of whom play better when the Dutchman is alongside them. After registering a clean sheet against a much-fancied West Ham side last weekend, Liverpool are looking better than ever, and much of that is down to the 27-year-old marshalling their defence.
