Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for £75million and the Dutchman soon established himself as the best centre-half in the world.
The Reds wanted him the summer before but after he was ‘tapped up’ by Jurgen Klopp, the Anfield outfit was reported to the Premier League by the Saints and so Liverpool had to back off.
However, they eventually got their man and the big man helped the Merseysiders win the Premier League and the Champions League.
He was struck down last season by Jordan Pickford and was forced to have surgery on a torn ACL and has struggled to reach the same heights he was playing at before his injury but with time, he should be able to find the form that had people comparing him to the greats of the game.
Ian Wright says Virgil van Dijk is the perfect transfer
Speaking to Premier League productions, he said: “You can look at Pogba’s signing.
“You look at Pogba, he’s not a six, he’s not an eight and not a 10.
“He is a player we saw when he played for Juventus, on the left, with a very well-balanced midfield and played with freedom. Aaron Ramsey, the same kind of player. He plays with freedom. You need the right players.
“That is where people are buying the wrong type of player without fitting them in. This is where the Virgil van Dijk signing is absolutely perfect.
“That’s why they would have paid another £25m for him – you look at how Virgil was playing for Celtic, he is playing exactly the same now.
“This is why all of the top teams have missed out on a player that was showing, the fact that he was playing in a league that wasn’t as good as the Premier League, but Liverpool have benefited from it.”
