Virgil van Dijk made the transition from Southampton to Liverpool last week for the dizzying EUR 84.5 million. Despite the sky-high transfer price, Neil McGuinness thinks that the defender will effortlessly meet expectations. The scout of Celtic’ discovered’ Van Dijk in 2013 at FC Groningen and immediately saw its enormous potential.
Virgil is one of the ten best defenders in the world and I am convinced that he will succeed at Liverpool. For me he is like Rio Ferdinand: both physically strong, both strong at the ball, both strong in the air. I had to think of Ferdinand right away when I saw Virgil playing for the first time. If he had only half of Ferdinand’s career, he would be successful,”says McGuinness in front of the Daily Record.
“He is a leader, speaks a lot on the field and makes few mistakes. Virgil is what Liverpool needs at the moment and he can develop further there. He has everything you want if you create a perfect central defender. It is large and strong, good in the air and has a good technique. Liverpool has not had a good footfall defender in recent years.
McGuinness already had Van Dijk on the radar when he had just made his debut with FC Groningen, in 2011. Two years later, the scout was present at the goblet between the Groningers and Vitesse,”I chose this competition especially because he would be opposite Wilfried Bony. A very physical peak, perhaps the best in the Eredivisie. That day, in front of Bony, he proved that he would be suitable for British football. I am still surprised that nobody has taken him away from FC Groningen before.
I knew that he had everything he needed to get the top, so that’s why I insisted so much on his coming at Celtic,”McGuiness said,” I think scouts and teams were a bit hesitant, because they wanted to see him first at Ajax or PSV. There is a big difference with since he arrived in Scotland, he is tactically much stronger. Adapted to the level in Scotland and England, he has become a smarter defender “.
Do you think Virgil van Dijk will succeed at Liverpool?
