Former CEO accepts accountability in “embarrassing” transfer saga involving Liverpool legend

Former Southampton CEO Martin Semmens admitted that the club handled the transfer saga involving Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool poorly. In a humble and introspective interview, Semmens admitted that the club acted “embarrassingly” during the whole transfer saga in 2017.

Liverpool also made a mistake by making an illegal approach to sign Van Dijk, and received a lot of criticism. The Reds have always accepted accountability and acted well in the transfer market, but this revelation highlights mistakes on both sides.

Liverpool eventually signed Van Dijk for £75m during the January 2018 window under the legendary manager Jurgen Klopp. The now Liverpool captain has etched his name in the history books since joining the Reds.

Now considered arguably the greatest defender in the Premier League by many, the 34-year-old continues to dominate as Liverpool’s captain. Van Dijk has made 323 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 28 goals and providing 13 assists in his ongoing legendary career.

Speaking to TalkSPORT, Semmens admitted that Southampton acted “embarrassingly” under him during the transfer saga involving Liverpool and Van Dijk. He said:

“We treated him in a different way and said, ‘You can’t go’. It didn’t work well for us. We didn’t [get him back on our side]. Virgil was fantastic, in my opinion, he trained at 75 [percent] and played at 75 [percent] and was still the best player in the team, if not the league. He didn’t cause us any problems. He never said a single bad word to anyone, but he wanted to go, and it wasn’t effective for us to keep the player. We kept him until January. It wasn’t good for the squad or the environment, but to be clear, Virgil never said one negative word to anybody. We felt, at the time, we could get more if he stayed. He’d had a bad injury, I think he’d been out for six to nine months and we felt that he owed us, which is embarrassing now I think back to it.”

Van Dijk’s silence highlights his level-headedness and professionalism, as many criticised his loyalty towards Southampton without knowing the full story. It is clear that the Dutch captain acted with honour throughout the ordeal and never pushed for a deal insensitively.

At the same time, Liverpool’s official statement (via Liverpool Echo) immediately accepted their mistake while pursuing Van Dijk. The club’s accountability and desire to work according to the rules are something that their critics sometimes fail to admit.

Rest assured, Liverpool fans have enjoyed every moment with Van Dijk throughout his tenure at the club. Hopefully, the journey is far from over, and there are many silverwares yet to be achieved under the leadership of Van Dijk.