Virgil van Dijk’s transfer to Liverpool in 2018 has become one of the most transformative in the history of the Premier League.
Seven years later, an ex-Südampon manager who is responsible for the deal admitted that the saga is embarrassing afterwards.
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Van Dijk completed a record broadcast for a defender at the time when he sealed £ 75 million to Liverpool in January 2018.
He immediately landed in the Kop by achieving a winner of the 84th minute in his debut against the rival Everton in the FA Cup.
Since then, the Dutch has become a Champions League winner and two-time Premier League champion on the way to the captain.
Van Dijk even won the UEFA men’s player of the year in 2019 and finished only seven points behind Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or this season.
As such, it was hardly surprising that the Reds were signed as their main coverage in summer 2017.
Van Dijk was searched for by Chelsea and Manchester City, but made it clear that after a year against European competition, he came to the Champions League after a year after a year in the Champions League play-offs.
The 34-year-old exchanged texts with Jürgen Klopp and even met him in Blackpool, which provoked an angry reaction in Southampton.
The saints complained in the Premier League of a secret approach and led Liverpool to grant a public apology.
In a statement, the Merseysiders said that they “ended an interest in the player” to prevent Southampton from submitting a report.
Van Dijk ultimately spent several months on the south coast before he was allowed to join Liverpool the following January.
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Liverpool’s statement from 2017 about Virgil van Dijk
In an official explanation at this time, the club said:
“The Liverpool Football Club would like to regret our regret about the latest media speculations about the Southampton Football Club and the player transfers between the two clubs.
“We apologize to the owner, the Board of Directors and fans of Southampton for misunderstandings in relation to Virgil van Dijk.
“We respect Southampton’s position and can confirm that we have ended every interest in the player.”
Southampton felt like van Dijk us “owed”
The former CEO of Southampton, Martin Semmens, considered at the beginning of this month during a appearance at Talksport at the Saga.
The London Lioness Executive claimed that the behavior of Liverpool had annoyed the saints, but forced van Dijk to finally stay back.
“Virgil van Dijk was a big one for us,” he recalled Talk sport. “We treated him in another way and said:” You can’t go “. It didn’t work well for us.
“We didn’t do it [get him back on our side]. Virgil was fantastic, in my opinion he trained at 75 [per cent] and played at 75 [per cent] And was still the best player in the team, if not in the league.
“He didn’t cause us any problems. He didn’t say a single bad word to anyone, but he wanted to go, and it was not effective for us to keep the player.
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“We held it until January. It was not good for the squad or the environment, but to be clear, Virgil never said a negative word to someone.
“We had got more when he stayed. He had a bad injury, I think he was traveling for six to nine months, and we felt that he was owed to us what was embarrassing now, I think back.
“There was also a contact of Liverpool that we did not love. At that time, he had already met a little more for morality before he told us.
“But in the end he did a very good job for us and we sold it at a good price.”
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Giovanni Leoni ‘as good as van dijk’
The Liverpool fans made the first look at Leoni in the 2-1 win of the Club’s Carabao Cup against the old Club of Semmen, Southampton.
The Italian impressed his first appearance since Parma moved before suffering an injury.
Liverpool will be desperate to Leoni to have avoided a big setback after he had already started to deliver the high praise of Simmens.
Semmens helped the 18-year-old from Sampdoria to Parma last year and announced that Van Dijk’s successor is in Waiting.
“Yes, absolutely for me [Leoni is the heir to the Van Dijk throne]”Simmens told Macha, Crook & Deeney about talk sports.
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“We signed him in the second year in which I was there in summer and I have a deep love for people like [Newcastle defender] Tino Livramento [for Southampton] And sign these young players. Romeo Lavia: This was the same type of deal.
“I think it was clearly the best young center in Italy, if not in Europe. And again we sold the vision to come to our club to play in Series A.
“I think it was 17 when he started playing and then when the right moment comes, you will go.
“Our understanding was the same with the keeper we bought. [Zion] Suzuki the Japanese goalkeeper. United tried to buy him. This is a rumor that I can do half -party.
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“The view was that they would probably stay there for more than a year, but Leoni was such a great level, and I think it emphasizes Liverpool’s ability that they discovered it.
“There were other clubs in the Premier League who asked me about him – not as an executive for Parma because I had gone until then, and I told them what I thought and they did not follow. Liverpool never called me.”
“Five or six teams from the Premier League asked me,” added Semmens. “I told them that he was as good as Virgil.”
“Liverpool never called me, never asked for a reference because they have such a ability to find these players. Top player!”