Virgil van Dijk never played in the Eredivisie for a top club, but became the most expensive Dutch football player of all time on Wednesday. In the Netherlands, the defender only came out for FC Groningen. Hans Nijland, general manager of the club, finds this amazing:”The top Dutch clubs only asked him in passing.
“At the time Ajax chose Mike van der Hoorn from FC Utrecht”, Nijland still knows. Eventually Van Dijk played for Groningen between 2011 and 2013, before he transferred to Celtic. In 2015 he made his debut for the Dutch national team,”It was so terribly easy with us. He quickly emptied the level of the Eredivisie. I thought it was still a long time before he was called up for Orange,”says Nijland to the NOS.
Van Dijk not only figuratively stood out above his fellow players,”What makes him so special is his physical. That is clear,”the director says,”He is almost unbeatable in the air. But next to that he also sees the game very well and has a great staircase,” Van Dijk came successfully through the medical assessment of Liverpool on Wednesday and gets rucksack number 4. He signed a long-term contract with the Reds.
