Virgil van Dijk has broken his silence on transfer talks he held with Jurgen Klopp ahead of his move to Liverpool in January 2018.
The Reds originally tried to sign the Dutchman the previous summer but were forced to apologise to Southampton and end their interest in the player after being accused of making an illegal approach for his services. Liverpool decided against moving for an alternative, which was criticised at the time, before belatedly getting their man in a club-record £75m deal.
The likes of Man City and Chelsea were also both interested in signing Van Dijk at the time, only for him to only be interested in a move to Anfield. And speaking with Gary Neville on ‘The Overlap’ , he revealed exactly what Klopp said to him to persuade him to join Liverpool when pushed on what exactly happened in those transfer talks.
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"There were rumours at the time that Man City were in for you and other clubs as well. Why did you choose Liverpool that time?" Neville asked. "There were rumours that Jurgen Klopp was doing a big job on you in terms of contacting you and sending you videos. Is that true? Go on, you can tell us now!"
“I know you want to hear all this stuff!" Van Dijk replied. "The reason I chose Liverpool is I really wanted to play for a club that lives and breathes football, and also the project. In the end when I spoke to Jurgen Klopp, the message was also what he wants from me and what he wants from me in the future was something that made me even more hungry to come here.
“I think everyone from the outside world felt there were a couple of pieces missing towards the success that Liverpool could have again. It’s never guaranteed but he saw that I was definitely a piece to the puzzle.
“As were the others we got in the summer, for example Alisson and Fabinho. The importance he put in me and me I was going to be was definitely a big boost. ‘We want to get you or we don’t get anyone.’ That was a big message for me.”
Van Dijk also revealed what Klopp said to him about his club-record £75m transfer fee as he explained why he was able to make an instant impact at Anfield.
“Yeah, I definitely felt ready but I know how the world works,” he said. “I knew that everyone is going to speaking about £75m instead of actually the quality I have. I remember you (Neville) speaking about it because everyone gave their reaction at the time.
“When we announced it, we had Sky Sports on that evening. We knew there was going to be so many opinions coming. For me, it was keep my head down, get started and just be as good as I can.
“That’s the only influence I had. It also helped with the manager. I spoke with the manager loads of times in that period but the most important message that he gave me was, ‘Just play your game. A price-tag is a price-tag. You didn’t decide that you cost £75m. That’s decided by the market and negotiations.’
“That helped a lot. Obviously the first game I played (against Everton) helped a lot as well. Winning, scoring the winner.
“Then going away with the boys on a trip to Dubai, to get to know everyone personally. It all helped and after that I hit the ground running and just carried on.”
By joining Liverpool, Van Dijk was also able to link up and play with a player he had previously tried to persuade former club Celtic to sign after coming up against him north of the border - Andy Robertson.
“Robbo is a fantastic player. Full of energy, passionate,” he said. “It has been a pleasure to play with him. He’s one of the leaders, he has that in him. He’s captain of Scotland.
“I played against him when I was at Celtic, playing against Dundee United. Funnily enough I was saying to our scouts that we should try and get him at Celtic. In the end he went to Hull and things happen.
“In general, playing with him has been incredible. I’m hard to him but he’s hard to me. We have a good relationship and what to get the maximum out of each other.
“Outside of the pitch, he’s one of the funniest guys in the team and always up for a laugh. That’s something you need in a team.”
While Robertson is a previous opponent that Van Dijk wanted to see his club sign and has been able to become team-mates with, the chances are he perhaps won’t be able to say the same of the player who would be his dream signing for Liverpool.
“ Kevin De Bruyne,” he said without pause when asked by Neville. “Yeah (I love him), he’s unbelievable.
“I think if he would have played at Liverpool, we would have gone even further than we already are. He’s outstanding. Good on the ball, pressing, scoring. He’s got everything as a modern day midfielder and footballer in general. I think he is an outstanding player.”
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