It didn’t take long, did it? After moving from Glasgow to the South Coast of England a year ago, Virgil van Dijk has already made the big boys stand up and take notice. Perhaps more so because he’s plying his trade at Southampton, a side who have gotten a recent tag of a selling club. Liverpool and Manchester United have been the sides who have often raided the South Coast club for their better players and the same is likely to happen again.
Van Dijk was always a special talent. In fact, it was a surprise that he moved to Southampton even though he was only playing for Celtic. Despite their domination in the domestic leagues, they struggled to make an impact in the European competition under then manager Ronny Deila. Van Dijk was a star in that team and unsurprisingly, he moved to a better league.
Now, after having impressed in his Premier League spell, another move is very likely to materialise. Where to, will be the most important question.
Manchester United and Liverpool are obviously the two most prospective clubs on the table. Although United are yet to hit the strides consistently, the presence of someone like Jose Mourinho will always be a factor. On the other hand, Liverpool’s style of play under Jürgen Klopp will be an attractive proposition.
Where would he fit in? Well, considering his attributes, which include an incredible good recovery pace, good ball-playing skills and a towering height, Liverpool. The Reds have found a similar player in Joel Matip but need another comparable player. Ragnar Klavan has been impressive at times, bringing his composure and passing ability on the ball, but you get the feeling that he isn’t the player who’ll win the title.
The same goes for Dejan Lovren, who seems to put in a few good performances before making the Liverpool fans tear their hair after a run of awful performances. Mamadou Sakho’s spell is all but over at Merseyside, so the need to add another good defender is imperative.
At Manchester United, Jose hasn’t yet found his best backline. The likes of Bailly, Smalling, Jones and Rojo have been used at the heart of the defence but injuries haven’t been kind to the gaffer as he’s had to reshuffle his backline a lot of times. When they’re all fit, Bailly and Jones could well be the preferred choice. In that case, van Dijk will have to compete with Jones and Smalling for a first team place.
Liverpool have had an uncertain time in recent seasons which has stopped some of the bigger name players from joining them. The presence of Klopp though could change that as they finally seem to be clicking as a unit, and are managed by a coach who has proven pedigree in Domestic and European competitions.
It could all be a bit anti-climactic though as Manchester City are now in the mix as well. Who wouldn’t want to play for Pep Guardiola?
