The Dutch defender says he ‘feels ready’ to start for Liverpool whenever Jurgen Klopp needs him.
The first deal of the January transfer window was reveals just after Christmas 2017 when former Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk posed by a Christmas tree with a Liverpool home jersey.
It was a deal that was supposed to get done last summer but the Saints were determined to hang on to one of their star players.
As it transpired, van Dijk was equally determined to get shot of St Mary’s and play some Champions League football with Liverpool, and play under Klopp himself.
Southampton did not sell the former Celtic man cheaply and Liverpool will have to stump up £75m. Klopp has previously stated that the day he has to fork out huge, over-inflated sums for players may be the day he steps away from football but the van Dijk saga has proved a reality check.
In his first interview since the deal was made official, van Dijk had a nice response when asked about that massive price tag. He said:
“Obviously there has been a lot of money paid for it [the transfer] but I cannot do anything about the money, the price. Nobody can. That’s just the market.
“The only thing I can do is just work hard and do the good things and be 100% every day. That is what I definitely want to do.”
The interview also featured shots of the 26-year-old in his fresh Liverpool gear and his jersey number has been revealed – No. 4.
Asked about that jersey number choice, he said:
“I had number 4 when I played for Groningen, back in Holland. I was always a big fan of the number but unfortunately at Southampton my good friend Jordy Clasie had 4. Obviously, I didn’t want to take it from him.
“Sami Hyypia had 4 when he played here [at Liverpool] and he played 10 years for my team in Holland, Willem II.”
https://youtu.be/E9RQWUOpcGI
Hyypia was a fan favourite and van Dijk will follow suit if he can settle into that Reds defence sharpish.
