Virgil van Dijk might be Liverpool's defensive lynchpin - but he could have joined Manchester United instead, had the club's owners been prepared to splash the cash.
The Dutch national team captain joined the Reds in January 2017 for a then club-record £75million transfer fee and has gone on to win almost every major trophy on offer under Jurgen Klopp. But prior to his arrival on Merseyside, he was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford while Jose Mourinho was still in charge of the Red Devils.
That interest has been given extra credence by football presenter Chris Kamara, who has shared an insightful conversation he had with the successful Portuguese manager before Van Dijk made his high-profile switch to Anfield.
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Speaking on the BBC’s Proper Football Podcast, Kamara said: “I can exclusively reveal that I told Jose [Mourinho] to take him to Manchester United and Jose said ‘these lot won’t give me the money for him.’ And he went to Liverpool.”
Show guest Troy Deeney was left in no doubt that United's supporters would be fuming to learn of such an opportunity being passed up by the Glazers. He said: “That’s going to go viral, love it. Man Utd fans are going to be in absolute tatters now.”
Ultimately, United signed Benfica centre-back Victor Lindelof, six months after Van Dijk joined Liverpool. And as recalled by the Dutchman's former Southampton teammate Charlie Austin, when presented with the possibility of signing either player, United went for the cheaper option.
In an interview with talkSPORT last year (as per The Mirror), Austin said: “I remember the back end of his [Van Dijk’s] Southampton career we were on the bench together at Chelsea away. I sat there I said, ‘come on Virgil, what’s going on, surely Man Utd must’ve been in for you? Massive club in England, etc.’
“He said, ‘you know what Chaz, in the summer it was like between me or Lindelof and they signed Lindelof’. I was like, ‘you are joking!’ Nobody knows that, he told me that on the bench. I couldn’t believe it, I was just as gobsmacked as you. Obviously there was talk in the summer he was going to go there, then they’ve gone and taken Lindelof instead.”
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