Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk has explained the reasons why he elected to join Liverpool in the January transfer market in 2018 when he left south coast club Southampton, claiming that he took a holistic view of the teams that were interested in signing him.
When the Dutch star was at the St Mary’s, Van Dijk had interest from a number of top clubs across Europe including the likes of Manchester City as he made the step up in his career but he opted to move to Anfield and join Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool instead.
The 28-year-old has since grown into one of the best players in the modern game, with AC Milan great Franco Baresi listing Van Dijk as one of the all-time great defenders for his contribution to the Liverpool team that has propelled them to the brink of the Premier League title this season. Van Dijk was an absolute colossal for the Reds last team and played a vital role at the back for Liverpool to win the Champions League.
In that process, Van Dijk was also named as UEFA’s Player of the Year in 2019. When the defender made the switch to Liverpool in January 2018, there were plenty of eyebrows raised over his £75 million price tag, making him the most expensive defender at the time.
However, Van Dijk spoke to BT Sport recently and revealed that he has assessed a move to the Merseyside outfit in order for the best step in his career. He said that the fans and the city also played a big part in his decision, “Before I made the decision to choose Liverpool, I looked at all the aspects of the clubs; the way of playing, the team-mates, the future as well, The city, the fans everything has got to be a big part of joining a club. I think Liverpool at that time when I made the decision was the right decision and obviously to reach the Champions League final in my first six months was obviously a big bonus and helped me a lot in my development.”
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