Liverpool have officially signed Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton for a fee of £75 million.
While the whole footballing world is debating if the Reds paid way too much for Van Dijk and his services, Liverpool have found support from a very unlikely source.
Former Man United player and current pundit Gary Neville feels that the price Liverpool have paid for Van Dijk is very much justified and the defender will now have to back it up by helping his new team win trophies.
Gary Neville told Sky Sports, “It’s a lot of money! When I first heard it I thought ‘wow, £75m’. I’m not surprised by the actual transfer but that is an incredible amount of money.
“Liverpool need defenders and have to pay to get him. That’s the way the market is and it isn’t going to change.
Liverpool Football Club can confirm they have reached an agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Virgil van Dijk.
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“It sounds like a fantastic deal for Southampton. But if Liverpool can stop their creaking in big matches when put under pressure then it will be a good deal for Liverpool as well because people will forget about the money that has been spent in a year or two if they can win trophies and get the defence right.
“Liverpool have to get the defence right, in the bigger matches they do stress quite quickly and can crack, so from their point of view, paying that sort of money hopefully it pays off, but for Southampton, they would snap your hand off for £75m.
“Over the last few years, they have lost some good players for good money but nothing at this level. It seems like a fantastic sell.
“I was surprised in the summer when I saw £50m for Kyle Walker but he has done brilliantly and it’s just the way the market has shifted to an incredible level that shocked me.”
