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Dunk Online Content OP
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I know Pep Guardiola has said he’ll prioritise a full-back and a defensive midfielder in the summer.

But if I was him the first person I’d be targeting is Virgil van Dijk.

I’d offer John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi plus £150million for the Dutchman and I wouldn’t stop until Liverpool accepted my offer was simply too good to turn down.

I know Jurgen Klopp has a long-term contract at Anfield and that, if Liverpool don’t win the Premier League, they will finish probably finish second and won’t want to be selling their best players.

Especially not to their rivals.

But Van Dijk is one of those incredibly gifted athletes and would make any defence on Planet Earth significantly better.
And if City want to become the dominant force they say they want to, then going all out for him would be a no-brainer.

Van Dijk reads the game better than any other defender in the Premier League and is a bit old-school in that respect.

I’d put him in the Rio Ferdinand bracket when it comes to his reading of situations — he sees the danger, acknowledges the danger and has the physicality and athleticism to be able to deal with it.

Some players can read the game but don’t have the pace and some have the pace but not the instinct.

He has the lot and on top of that he exudes a calmness that rubs off on the rest of his side’s back four.

I see in Van Dijk someone who is unflustered and will go on, either with Liverpool or another club, to win many, many titles.

And by the time he hangs up his boots, we could be talking about him in the same venerable tones as Sergio Ramos if he gets the chance to win as many titles either at Liverpool or elsewhere.

As an ex-striker who used to love testing himself against the best defenders, I don’t half enjoy watching him play and trying to work out what I’d be doing to try to get the better of him.

Getting him into wide positions as often as possible would be my first thought because he reads the situations very well when you’re around the edge of the penalty box and trying to find space to turn.
He’s very good at snuffing the danger out then walking away with the ball, and that can become very dispiriting.

So you drop a little bit deeper, take him wider and into positions he’s less comfortable being in, even if only slightly.

Mind you, it might not make too much difference because he could play full-back quite easily.

But you’d still try to create gaps for others to run into.

I go back to Celtic fans saying, ‘This guy is the real deal, he’s a Rolls-Royce’, because having watched Henrik Larsson in recent seasons, they know what players of that calibre look like.

Van Dijk has to be worth at least £175m of anybody’s money and, while it’s easy to throw around statements such as ‘best in the world’, I really believe he is.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/man-city-should-go-out-14086379

---

Thoughts?

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Dunk Online Content OP
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John Aldridge says Stan Collymore's article urging Manchester City to bid for Virgil van Dijk is "poor journalism from an ex LFC player".

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Originally Posted By Dunk
I know Pep Guardiola has said he’ll prioritise a full-back and a defensive midfielder in the summer.

But if I was him the first person I’d be targeting is Virgil van Dijk.

I’d offer John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi plus £150million for the Dutchman and I wouldn’t stop until Liverpool accepted my offer was simply too good to turn down.

I know Jurgen Klopp has a long-term contract at Anfield and that, if Liverpool don’t win the Premier League, they will finish probably finish second and won’t want to be selling their best players.

Especially not to their rivals.

But Van Dijk is one of those incredibly gifted athletes and would make any defence on Planet Earth significantly better.
And if City want to become the dominant force they say they want to, then going all out for him would be a no-brainer.

Van Dijk reads the game better than any other defender in the Premier League and is a bit old-school in that respect.

I’d put him in the Rio Ferdinand bracket when it comes to his reading of situations — he sees the danger, acknowledges the danger and has the physicality and athleticism to be able to deal with it.

Some players can read the game but don’t have the pace and some have the pace but not the instinct.

He has the lot and on top of that he exudes a calmness that rubs off on the rest of his side’s back four.

I see in Van Dijk someone who is unflustered and will go on, either with Liverpool or another club, to win many, many titles.

And by the time he hangs up his boots, we could be talking about him in the same venerable tones as Sergio Ramos if he gets the chance to win as many titles either at Liverpool or elsewhere.

As an ex-striker who used to love testing himself against the best defenders, I don’t half enjoy watching him play and trying to work out what I’d be doing to try to get the better of him.

Getting him into wide positions as often as possible would be my first thought because he reads the situations very well when you’re around the edge of the penalty box and trying to find space to turn.
He’s very good at snuffing the danger out then walking away with the ball, and that can become very dispiriting.

So you drop a little bit deeper, take him wider and into positions he’s less comfortable being in, even if only slightly.

Mind you, it might not make too much difference because he could play full-back quite easily.

But you’d still try to create gaps for others to run into.

I go back to Celtic fans saying, ‘This guy is the real deal, he’s a Rolls-Royce’, because having watched Henrik Larsson in recent seasons, they know what players of that calibre look like.

Van Dijk has to be worth at least £175m of anybody’s money and, while it’s easy to throw around statements such as ‘best in the world’, I really believe he is.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/man-city-should-go-out-14086379

---

Thoughts?


If I was Pep, this is what I would do, but can't see the club selling him as long as he doesn't force the exit himself. If we don't win trophies soon and he feels he has the opportunity elsewhere, he would try to move. However, I think he will give us until summer 2020 to win something of importance, like the league or CL. Big players want to win things and if they have better options, they will move as most of us looking to improve our careers. We've seen this a number of times.

Last edited by TiredReds; 05/03/19 10:37 AM.
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Stan Collymore, never did know his Arse from his elbow, and was always too lazy to find out. He should know that City already tried to sign VvD, but he turned them down in favour of us. Collymore I'd just attention seeking, and making himself look foolish.

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He said it was madness paying £75m for him and now he’s worth £150m and two players? Fukking clown.

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“we could be talking about him in the same venerable tones as Sergio Ramos”
Good grief.... venerable?!

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Probably the last player in the squad I'd sell no matter how high the offer is. He is not going anywhere anytime soon, he just got here and will hopefully spend his prime years at Liverpool.


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Originally Posted By Snakeye
Probably the last player in the squad I'd sell no matter how high the offer is. He is not going anywhere anytime soon, he just got here and will hopefully spend his prime years at Liverpool.


Yep, the club would not wish to sell, however, VVD might wish to move if he doesn't win titles as both Suarez and Coutinho did. He is not a boyhood fan as Gerrard, so if he thinks he can have a better career elsewhere, I think he will move.

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I'd stop following football if we sold VVD to Cithe.... simple as.

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Time to put a 500m release clause in his contract.

Him and Alisson, I'd have huge problems with accepting them leaving the club any time soon and I think a lot of fans would feel the same.

For FSG to even contemplate selling would be a huge smack in the face to the fans, it would also open the door for every other top player we have to move on.

Collymore does like to controversially wind Liverpool and it's fans up from time to time, to help him be relevant.

How's Ulrika Jonsson these days? if the #mettoo movement was around earlier Collymore would have never got the chance to say this tosh!


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