Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has praised new signing Virgil Van Dijk and has insisted that the Dutchman will be worth every penny spent.
Liverpool confirmed the signing of Dutch defender Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton earlier this week for a reported fee of around £75 million and the move makes him the most expensive defender of all time.
Following the announcement, pundits and fans have both been quick to comment on the size of the fee – with many suggesting that the money paid was too much for a central defender.
Despite so much criticism, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has defended his new signing by suggesting that the towering defender is worth his weight on gold and that the transfer fee could prove to be small in comparison if the defender manages to prove himself.
Klopp said, “The last thing I think about is the price. It’s not because I throw money around. We only think about the player.
“You get the price and you have to accept it or not. We have to adapt to it. It a big change. It’s not nice, but that’s the market, that’s the world.
“I’m surprised about the development in the last two years because there were big steps and the last half year changed everything. We as a club cannot change that.”
Ignoring the fee, it has to be said that Van Dijk will be an ideal fit at Liverpool as the Dutch seem to have all the qualities to succeed under Klopp.