£75M VAN MAN
Liverpool smash world record fee for defender
LIVERPOOL have smashed the world record transfer fee for a defender by sensationally completing the £75million signing of Virgil van Dijk.
He will officially become a Liverpool player on Monday, when the January transfer window opens.
Van Dijk (right) had a medical on the south coast yesterday, with Southampton’s consent, after the two clubs agreed a fee.
He has signed a contract worth more than £180,000 per week that will run until June 2023.
Liverpool have landed a player who will be eligible for the Champions League in the second half of the season — he could even make his debut against Everton in the FA Cup third- round tie next Friday. Van Dijk has been assigned the No 4 shirt. The Holland defender’s future had come under intense scrutiny after he was left out of Southampton’s squad for their recent games against Tottenham and Huddersfield.
He has been a target for most of the top clubs in the League, with the runaway leaders
Manchester City particularly keen. Pep Guardiola was eager to add him to his squad and City were aware of how much it would cost. They had been in talks with Southampton.
City first sent a scouting delegation to watch Van Dijk in November 2016 — in a 0-0 draw with Liverpool — and viewed him as the long-term successor for Vincent Kompany, whose injury problems flared up once more against Newcastle last night.
But Van Dijk’s ambition from early this summer was to move to Anfield to work with Jurgen Klopp and that wish never wavered, even though Liverpool were forced to withdraw their interest in June after Saints threatened to report them to the Premier League for an illegal approach.
Mike Gordon, president of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, made concerted efforts to improve relations between the clubs and it got to the point where there was a possibility of him moving to Anfield on deadline day in August, though it could not be finalised.
The two clubs have done significant business since the summer of 2014 and Van Dijk becomes the sixth player to swap St Mary’s for Anfield following Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Sadio Mane. The total for those transfers is £168.5m.
Southampton were adamant they would not sell Van Dijk back in the summer but the landscape has changed. The player is likely to say his goodbyes to Southampton’s squad today. He was given permission not to report to their Staplewood training ground yesterday so he could have a rigorous fitness test, having only played 16 times for the Saints this calendar year due to a serious ankle problem.
He is relishing the opportunity to get his career on Merseyside started and posted a message on his Instagram account, having been pictured at home holding up a shirt.
‘Delighted and honoured to have agreed to become a Liverpool player,’ said Van Dijk. ‘ Today is a proud day for me and my family as I join one of the biggest clubs in world football! I can’t wait to pull on the famous red shirt for the first time in front of the Kop and will give everything I have to try and help this great club achieve something special in the years to come.
‘I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to (technical director) Les Reed, the board, manager, players and fans and everyone at Southampton. I will always be indebted to the club for giving me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and despite a difficult last few months, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Saints and have made friends for life at the club.
‘Thank you for everything. Thank you for all the messages of support. I’m now looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and getting started.’
City, who also held discussions with Southampton about the purchase of England left back Ryan Bertrand, remain keen on Inigo Martinez at Real Sociedad and Jonny Evans at West Brom.
Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson has been ruled out until February. The England midfielder suffered a grade two tear in the hamstring of his right leg in Friday’s 3-3 draw at Arsenal.
FLANAGAN, the e Liverpool defender, has s been charged with common n assault. The 24-year- old will ll appear at Liverpool Magistrates s Court on January 2 following g an incident on Duke Street, in n the city centre, at 3.20am last t Friday.