da doce： Virgil van Dijk has revealed that the presence of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool played a big role in the centre-back deciding to make the move to Merseyside.
da brdice： Van Dijk became the world’s most expensive defender when he joined Liverpool from Southampton in a £75m deal at the start of the January transfer window.
The Netherlands international was not involved in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League on New Year’s Day, but could make his debut in the FA Cup against Everton on Friday night.
Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal were also linked with the centre-back before he joined Liverpool, and Van Dijk has claimed that Klopp’s personality will help him develop into a better footballer.
Van Dijk told Liverpool’s official website:
“Since he’s come in, I think he has made a lot of progress and I think it is only going to get better and better. Hopefully I can contribute to that as well.
“Everybody from a Liverpool perspective knows how lively he is, how he can make players better and give them confidence. It just suits me as well.
“I think he can make me a better player and I am just looking forward to working with him. I think this is the right time for me to be here and to develop all sorts of aspects of my game.”
Van Dijk joined Southampton from Celtic in the summer of 2015, and scored seven times in 80 appearances during his time with the Saints.
The defender left St Mary’s under a cloud, however, having tried and failed to negotiate a move away from South Coast club during the summer transfer window.