January 5.
FA Cup 3rd Round.
Anfield.
Liverpool v Everton.
Liverpool fans have had to wait for the arrival of Virgil van Dijk, the man himself has had to wait to join the club he wanted to join, but if ever he was going to make a perfect first impression, it would be in a knockout game in front of the Kop against the city rivals.
The Dutch man arrives at his new club when the transfer window opens on January 1 and, although Liverpool have a game against Burnley that day, he will not be able to play.
The player can’t register until the following day, on Tuesday 2 January, and that means he’ll have to sit out the trip to Burnley and ready himself for a baptism of fire against Big Sam’s long balls.
Can't register until 2 Jan, so first game Van Dijk available for is Merseyside derby in FA Cup.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) December 27, 2017
If he was to be able to play against Burnley, he’d have to be registered in the squad by 12pm on New Year’s Eve but he obviously can’t do that because he won’t have joined Liverpool by that stage.
After January 5, the tests will only get more acidic though. Van Dijk’s first league game is also a home one but it’s against the steamrolling Manchester City on January 14.
After that, the fixtures keep on coming with the Champions League second round on the horizon.
Six of the Netherlands international’s first 10 games are at home.
The player himself released a statement to explain his excitement at joining up with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) December 27, 2017
