Virgil van Dijk has finally become a Liverpool player.
On Wednesday evening,
Liverpool confirmed that they have agreed to sign Van Dijk from Southampton in a transfer worth
£75m - a world record fee for a defender.
After months of speculation, and an aborted transfer for the player back in the summer, the Dutch defender will officially join the club on January 1.
Liverpool thought they were about to sign the 26-year-old before the season started, after reports emerged that Van Dijk had agreed to join Jurgen Klopp's side in a deal worth £60m. However, Southampton weren't happy about the reported agreement between the player and the club, and they raised the issue with the Premier League. Before the situation could develop any further, Liverpool backed away from the transfer.
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However, according to reports, the two Premier League clubs had been in negotiations for the player over the past few days, after Southampton decided it was in their interests to sell him and reinvest in their squad. Manchester City and Chelsea were reportedly interested in Van Dijk, but he was evidently determined to move to Anfield. He'll earn a reported £180,000 a week.
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The transfer has understandably sparked interest, even among non-Liverpool fans, and the transfer fee has become a talking point. Transfer fees stopped making a sense a long time ago, but the £75m fee for Van Dijk has got a lot of people talking - including Manchester United supporters.
For some, the fee represents further evidence of how "mad" football has become. While many United fans accused their Liverpool counterparts of double standards. As far as they were concerned, Liverpool supporters criticised United for spending £90m on Paul Pogba in 2016, but the same fans were extremely excited about their club paying £75m for Van Dijk, and had no issue with the fee involved.
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