?Former Liverpool favourite John Barnes has claimed that the £50m price tag attached to Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk shouldn’t put Jurgen Klopp off signing the Dutchman.
The Southampton centre-half has impressed for much of this season, and despite currently being stuck on the sidelines through injury, clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool are very keen on the player.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Barnes states that a player’s price tag shouldn’t scare off any potential suitors.
“It doesn’t matter how much it takes. You can sign a good player for £5million or a good player for £50million. If that’s the market value, it’s the market value.” Said the former Kop legend.
“I’m more interested in the qualities that a player could bring to the team rather than the transfer fee. Of course if it doesn’t work out then it’s a lot of money to spend on a failure. But whenever you sign a player there’s a risk.
“Paul Pogba was £90m. Has Pogba played like the best footballer in the world? No, but he’s a good player who can help Manchester United in the future.”
Barnes seems to be a fan of the 25-year-old, discussing that Van Dijk could bring a lot to the Liverpool defence.
“I’ve seen enough of him from when he was at Celtic to know that Van Dijk is a very talented defender.
“It would be great. He’s a quality player. I think Jurgen Klopp does like him and if he comes to Liverpool I think that would be a good signing.
“If it takes spending £50m to get Van Dijk and Klopp wants to do that and believes that’s the right deal for the club then I’d back him.”
Liverpool are currently battling it out for a Champions League spot – which could go a long way to persuading Van Dijk to join them.
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