Former Everton captain and midfielder Leon Osman believes that Liverpool will complete the signing of Virgil van Dijk before the transfer window closes and put an end to one of the biggest transfer sagas of the season.
The Dutch defender has been linked with a move to Anfield since the start of the window but things got awry when we went a little too far and Southampton reported us to the Premier League for tapping up. Our apology seemed to end all our interest in the 26-year-old but the Dutch defender is now striking at the Saints as he looks for an exit route from the club.
The former captain of the Toffees was speaking to Sky Sports News and his quotes were carried by The Sport Review.
“The buying club and the club that the player wants to go to, more often than not, get their man.
“Virgil van Dijk has come out and said where he wants to play his football next season. Liverpool obviously want the player.
“It’s very similar to how Barcelona are courting for Philippe Coutinho.
“I actually feel the move will go through. I think Southampton will inevitably accept the offer that Liverpool are offering and they will get their man.”
While Osman does make sense that Van Dijk could come to Anfield, the situation isn’t the same with Coutinho as Barcelona came really late into the scene and tried to disrupt our season. We have conceded four goals from three games played so far this campaign and our real test lies in the next two matches as we face Hoffenheim and then Arsenal.
Keeping a clean sheet in our previous game against Crystal Palace would have done the squad a whole lot of good but we cannot doubt the quality of the 26-year-old Van Dijk. The Dutch defender has been one of the best defenders in the country ever since he came from Celtic and it does seem likely that he will leave the club sooner rather than later.
We do need one more quality defender in our side and that should fix our issue of not having proper competition in the centre-back region.
Frankly, this entire saga has gone on for far too long and it has to stop soon. We cannot wait for the window to close so that we can just concentrate on the season. For now we have to worry about Hoffenheim and this Van Dijk issue can be dealt with later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ng5Nb4Cdk0
