In January, Liverpool counted 84.5 million euros in order to unleash Virgil van Dijk at Southampton. The Dutch defender knows that because of his enormous price tag he is now under a magnifying glass,”But my strength is not to attract me so much from the opinions of other people”, says Van Dijk in conversation with the Guardian and the Liverpool Echo.
I know that I have made this step for a lot of money and that everything will be analysed. No one is going to look at the good things you do. Everyone looks at the bad things, so it is. I will discuss that with the people who make me better: the manager and my fellow players. If it is true, I see this as constructive criticism “, says Van Dijk, so he says that negative opinions can easily be ignored.
I know when I’m doing well and I also know exactly when I’m doing something wrong. Nobody will talk about my action against Tottenham Hotspur “, continues the defender,” We defended well, but got two questionable penalty shots against. No one is talking about that. As a team we did very well against Harry Kane, one of the best spikes in the world. Last season I was out of the rotation for eight months last year and it is not easy to come back. I just focus on the team and myself, not on what everyone thinks.
The football we play with Liverpool is completely different. I need the time to get used to it, and I do that every day with the team. I talk a lot with the manager and other people who can help me move forward,”said Van Dijk, who will take Liverpool against Southampton next Sunday,” Maybe they’ll whistle me out of the competition. What can I do about this? Nothing, I took the decision. I enjoyed my time at Southampton and am very grateful to the club. But I have gone further and they have gone further.
Jamie Carragher recently said that Van Dijk seems too thick,”He should have to enter the locker room, then he sees that I can hardly lose weight. There will always be people who have an opinion about you, that’s how it is right now. I don’t really worry about my price tag, because I don’t have any influence on that. My family appreciates me and that is the most important thing. There are so many eyes on me at the moment, I just keep my head down.
Do you realise that there is a magnifying glass on Virgil van Dijk?