Virgil van Dijk stats in first year at Liverpool show how he has lived up to 75million price tag

Virgil van Dijk stats in first year at Liverpool show how he has lived up to 75million price tag
There is no denying that Liverpool have become a much better side since they signed Virgil van Dijk a year ago.His 75million transfer to Liverpool was completed on January 1, 2018, from Southampton and the Reds have not looked back since.3

Virgil van Dijk’s transfer to Liverpool was completed a year ago

The stats are there to back up his phenomenal impact and prove hes worth the price tag.Lets remind ourselves what some people thought of the money paid for the Dutch international and how hes proved them wrong.“I thought van Dijk was a good player at Southampton,” said Gary Neville.“But I didn’t think he was worth 75m, and I didn’t think he would have the impact on Liverpool’s defence that he’s had.3

Liverpool’s defence has drastically improved since van Dijk signed

The wise words of Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock next who passed up on the chance to sign van Dijk earlier in his career.“I think Sol Bamba is slightly better than van Dijk, defensive wise,” said Warnock at the time of the transfer. “Van Dijk’s got better attributes on the ball but I don’t think he’s a better defender than Sol Bamba.”Warnock did see the funny side of it more recently, saying: “Van Dijk – I’m delighted he’s playing like he is.“We could have bought him at Palace for 6million but my chief scout told me he was too slow. I think he’s still in a job as well!” Liverpool have by far the best defence in the Premier League this season. Just eight goals conceded from 20 games is staggering. The fewest amount they have conceded in a Premier League season is 25 so they are well on course to smash that.The next best record is that of Manchester City and Chelsea with 16.Theres no coincidence that the Reds defence got better after they signed van Dijk.3

Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have formed a formidable partnership

Before his first game, Liverpool conceded 1.2 goals per game and kept a clean sheet in just 32% of their games.Since they signed him that goals per game figure has dropped to just 0.5 and have kept clean sheets in 57% of matches.Hes missed just one match in all competitions for the Reds this season and played all but 35 minutes of their Premier League and Champions League games.

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