Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has raved over the development of Reds defender Virgil van Dijk from a potential star to a world class operator.
The Dutchman is generally viewed as the finest defender in world football, despite there originally being criticism of the £75million fee Liverpool spent on him. Klopp also revealed what convinced him to take the plunge on the 28-year-old.
“I cannot say that I watched him for the last six years and thought ‘ahh I wait a little bit longer and then I get him’ but the two years he played at Southampton before he got injured, that was really incredible,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “I saw something of him at Celtic, but I didn’t see this world-class player, already. I saw a very-good centre-half, but I didn’t need one at that time.
“And then when we needed him in the moment, it was clear, he can make the next step with us. That makes life a bit easier but anyway, he has gone from a world-class potential to a world-class player. There’s still a step to go but he made this step and he deserves all these awards, that is how it is.”
OPINION
Look, no big team wanted to go for Van Dijk when he was at Celtic, because he was unproven at the top level at that point. Scottish football is a decent level, but it’s certainly not the Premier League or the Champions League. You can’t blame Klopp for not getting Van Dijk two years earlier, and besides it all worked out in the end. Southampton are obviously a smaller team than the Reds and so they can afford to take the risk on a Celtic player, which they have done repeatedly. Klopp is right, though, Van Dijk has turned all his outstanding potential into reality at Anfield. He is now the best defender in the world, but there were certainly doubts over the amount of money Liverpool paid for the Dutch international. It’s easy to forget that Liverpool were criticised heavily for spending a then-world record fee for a defender who’d never played for a better team than Southampton. They took the risk, though, and there’s no doubt that it has paid off handsomely.
