Virgil Van Dijk‘s move to Liverpool has been the only successful £70m+ transfer in Premier League history.
That’s according to TalkSPORT pundit Darren Bent. Speaking on Antony’s impending £85m transfer to Manchester United, Bent asked journalist Andy Brassel whether the Brazilian could follow the Liverpool star.
“When you look at the money here, £85m, could he [Antony] kind of break the mould? When I say that when you look at some of the transfers into the Premier League for over £70m, you’d probably say that Van Dijk’s the only one that’s worked,” said the pundit.
“The likes of Pepe, Kai Havertz, Kepa, Pogba, Lukakau, Grealish even £100m, Jadon Sancho. Do you think he’ll be the one that breaks the mould and be worth closer to the £85m than some of the names I just suggested?”
If Antony has anything like Van Dijk’s impact, then the rest of the Premier League is in trouble. Given United’s record in the transfer market though, we won’t hold our breath.
Virgil sitting top of the pile
It is a strange quirk that the biggest deals in the Premier League have generally failed to work out.
What a relief then, that Liverpool’s most expensive signing is the one that bucks that trend.
The Reds can’t afford to splash the cash in the manner that their rivals can. As a result, they need to make absolutely sure when parting with such large fees.
In the case of Van Dijk, they couldn’t have been more spot on. Fans of other clubs may wish to put forward their own names here, but Virgil has been the best centre-back in the world for the last four years.
When you have a defence as leaky as the one Liverpool had upon his arrival in 2018, you can’t really put a price on what he’s done. The Reds no.4 is truly priceless.
As for the other names on Bent’s list, there will be some serious cases of buyers regret.
Two of the list are currently out on-loan, with another rooted to the bench as a second choice ‘keeper. Another, Paul Pogba, left under a cloud without a transfer fee this summer.
Of the rest, they could all still be a success. Havertz arguably repaid his transfer fee the moment he slotted home the winner in the Champions League final in 2021. But whatever they, or Antony, do from here on in, they’ll not hit the heights of Van Dijk. No way.
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