Some people rank Virgil van Dijk as one of the best center backs to have played in the Premier League history.
In January 2018, Liverpool paid a hefty £75 million for him, and it’s safe to say they got value for their money.
Imagine passing him up when he was only asking £6 million. That’s what Neil Warnock actually did.
The Dutchman from Celtic was available at a great price in 2014, and the then-manager of Crystal Palace was eager to sign him.
Warnock had some reservations about his pace, so he decided to heed his scout’s advice.
In 2017, Warnock said to talkSPORT, “It was difficult to sign players when I was at Palace.”
“I pursued Van Dijk, the Celtic center-half, and they requested six million pounds.” “We have to buy him, don’t we?” I said.
“He is not very quick; this is Scottish football,” the chief scout observed after observing him. That was prior to Southampton making a move for him.
Van Dijk’s value only grew, and in the summer of 2015, he successfully negotiated a Deadline Day trade to the Saints.
With the legendary Ronald Koeman of the Netherlands in charge at the time, it seemed like a perfect fit.
Southampton splashed out £13.5m, more than twice as much as Crystal Palace could have paid to sign him.
He became the most expensive Dutch defender to join Manchester United since Jaap Stam’s departure.
Two and a half years later, Van Dijk broke records once more with his £75 million transfer to Liverpool, which turned out to be a record for a defender.
The 32-year-old controversially finished second to Lionel Messi at the 2020 Ballon d’Or after winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award in his debut season.
Along with that, he has seven trophies from Liverpool, one from the Community Shield, Club World Cup, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Premier League, and Champions League.
He’s regarded as one of the greatest Premier League players of all time by none other than Man United legend Stam.
When asked to select a Premier League defender to play alongside him on The Overlap podcast, he chose his fellow countryman Van Dijk.
He clarified, “I’d play alongside Virgil van Dijk and keep it Dutch.” It would make a beneficial alliance. Although I enjoy Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, and John Terry more, Virgil is a really talented player.
He and Liverpool appear to be back to their best after a slump in the 2022–2023 campaign, and they are attempting to win the Premier League once more.
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