Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool’s £75 Million Bargain of a Centre-Back

When Liverpool spent £75 million on Virgil van Dijk, many deemed it to be excessive money. Now however, we can look back at the signing as a bargain that might change Liverpool’s fortunes.

Before Liverpool splashed the cash on Virgil van Dijk in the January of 2018, the most expensive transfer for a centre-back in football history was the £40 million that PSG paid for Chelsea’s David Luiz. Therefore, it came as a shock to many when Jurgen Klopp’s team decided to nearly double the previous record, dishing out a whopping £75 million for Van Dijk – unheard-of money for a defender. Large price tags such as this often carry heavy weight, as expectations heighten and the risks of flopping increase as well.

Since Van Dijk was playing for a relatively small club in Southampton prior to this move, many were skeptical about his ability to take such a large leap up. Fast forward 14 months, and Van Dijk has gone from an underrated mid-table Premier League defender, to one of the very best in the world.

The first thing you’ll notice about Van Dijk is his massive frame. Standing at 6’4, the Dutch international is an imposing figure who uses his size to his advantage heavily. There is just something about Van Dijk that you don’t see in other centre-backs, and it certainly relates to his size. He is just a massive frame, a massive leader, and a massive presence on the field all at once – in a way that has hardly ever been replicated in football history.

Although Van Dijk does not have the achievements yet to be considered overall among the likes of Ramos, Pique, and Chiellini, he certainly is on a similar if not greater playing level than those 3 and other top defenders in Europe. Just a few weeks after joining the Reds, they already looked a far better side defensively, which was one of their downfalls in the first half of the 2017-18 season. It truly was Van Dijk’s contributions that allowed their front 3 to move freely, which thus led to Liverpool getting all the way to the Champions League final.

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Aerial prowess is one of Van Dijk’s most notable traits, as you probably could have guessed after seeing his height, but he is also fantastic on the ground. In modern football, many teams are utilizing cut-backs to create their goals after overloading wide areas. Van Dijk is excellent at reading the game and is therefore extremely effective against opposition that try and run to the touch-line to put in low crosses. There really isn’t anyone better at cutting them out. Playing out from the back is also another key trait in modern football, and Van Dijk is quite good in this department as well.

Although we weren’t entirely sure of it at the time, it is now for certain that Liverpool managed to get their hands on a world-class centre-back in January 2018 for just £75 million. Although that price places him as the 11th most expensive player in football history, his contributions, leadership, and potential will likely see Virgil van Dijk become a Liverpool legend and a club captain in the near future as well.