Mauricio Pochettino reckons Virgil van Dijk has been worth ever penny of the £75million Liverpool paid for him.
Centre back van Dijk has starred for the Reds this season, playing 31 times in the Premier League to fire Jurgen Klopp's men into a title race with Manchester City .
The Dutchman joined the Reds from Southampton in January 2018 in a club record swoop.
And Tottenham chief Pochettino has admitted his deep admiration for van Dijk - while appearing to send a coded to his chairman Daniel Levy - who last splashed out on a player over a year ago.
“It made a good point,” Pochettino said. “When a team like Liverpool need to improve their team in a certain area, people said it was crazy to pay £70m for a centre-back.
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“But Liverpool were right. They picked Van Dijk, because at that moment they believed he was the best centre-back in England who could make them better, and they were right.
“Some people said, ‘Why would you pay £70m for a centre-back?’ But the people who believed other things have now been shown that Liverpool were right.
“If you are going to sign the player who is going to improve your team, then it is not a lot of money.
“Because when you consider what it means to win a Champions League or a Premier League, it is cheaper to spend this type of money.”
His presence in the Liverpool teams means it is likely to be a very different trip to Merseyside for Spurs than on their other two visits this season – the 6-2 win over Everton followed by the 7-0 FA Cup drubbing of Tranmere.
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In truth, their form has dropped right off since they enjoyed a 10-day break after their stunning 3-0 Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
Tomorrow’s game comes 22 days after their shock 2-1 defeat to Southampton and Pochettino read his players the riot act in their training break in Barcelona ahead of the vital final chapter of the season.
“There was a week where we didn’t play and it was like we disconnected,” he said. “Everyone believed we needed to breathe and rest but I think it affected us a lot in our brain.
“We talked a lot in Barcelona, once we were together, to try to change that situation.
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“The first half against Southampton was the perfect example. The first half the performance was good but in the second half we played 11 different games and what happened, happened.
“That’s what worried me a little bit and we need to recover our memories and our feeling that we need to fight altogether and we need to show the real quality altogether like a team.
“That is more important than the individual.”
