- Anfield Index

On December 27th 2017, news broke that Virgil Van Dijk was to become a Liverpool player for what was then a world record fee for a defender. Liverpool had chased the defender for six months and after an aborted attempt to sign him in summer transfer window, which ended in an apology and a statement that they would not longer be pursuing his signature, they had finally gotten their man. They had paid the price for that messy summer though. …

At £75 million, the rhetoric surrounding Virgil Van Dijk’s move to Liverpool (from Southampton) was often one of surprise. There would have been a fair portion of Reds fans that saw the deal as overly expensive, but it was the remainder of the football supporting community that sniggered at the deal. There were fans everywhere, stating that Virgil was an overrated defender, and that the fee in no way justified the signing. The likes of Harry Maguire were often held …

Liverpool’s £75m capture of Virgil van Dijk made him the most expensive defender in the world. Of course, eyebrows were raised left, right and centre given the size of such an investment; a good defender for Southampton but one worthy of such an outlay? Outsiders weren’t particularly convinced. Fast forward to the present and the critics have gone eerily quiet as it appears one man can indeed fix a defence. A third successive clean sheet of the season in the …

On 7th June, 2017, Liverpool Football Club issued the following short statement:

Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs. We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk. We respect Southampton's position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player.

Read it carefully…it talks of regret …