Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has hailed the club’s “great additions” this summer while also teasing the potential for more recruits.
Hugo Ekitiké’s arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday for an estimated £78 million ($104.6 million) is the latest recruit in a record-breaking summer which has also seen the likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez bound through the open Anfield door.
Van Dijk had predicted this. Back in May the Dutch skipper warned Liverpool’s rivals that it would be “a massive summer in terms of players coming in” for the Premier League champions.
Despite already spending almost £270 million ($362.5 million), Liverpool’s strong financial position ensures they have the wiggle room to carry on buying. Talk of a potential move for Newcastle United’s reportedly wantaway striker Alexander Isak seems to grow each day.
Liverpool’s ambitious approach and the prospect for more recruits was put to Van Dijk during the club’s tour of Asia. “I think everyone has tried to improve their teams—and we as well, I think we’ve done great additions to the team so far,” he told the Anfield Wrap.
It has almost been forgotten by the flurry of Ekitiké and Isak activity, but Wirtz’s arrival was seen as an almighty coup for Liverpool earlier this summer. The player and his parents have been at pains to stress the impact manager Arne Slot had on his decision to choose Liverpool above Bayern Munich, and it appears that Van Dijk also had a word in Wirtz’s ear.
“Liverpool is the place to be,” was the Netherlands international’s core message.
“When I joined the club I said: ‘I don’t think there’s a better place to be than Liverpool’. I really feel that way,” Van Dijk explained to assembled reporters this week. “We had a fantastic season and I feel like this can only become better. When Florian spoke to the club and certain players, I spoke to him as well a little bit, I’m sure he got a feel for it and then he made a decision.
“Coming here, he can really make a big impact in my opinion. It’s also down to him in terms of showing it every single day. He’s getting there and it’s good to see.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Great Additions’—Virgil van Dijk Delivers Liverpool Transfer Tease.
