Virgil van Dijk picked his dream signing for Liverpool on Gary Neville’s The Overlap. The Dutchman didn’t even hesitate.
Gary Neville welcomed Virgil van Dijk onto The Overlap this week for an extensive interview. We got talk about Van Dijk’s development in football, questions from fans and talk on Liverpool right now.
One interesting question had Van Dijk picking the one player he wishes he could play with. No former teammate at club or international level – who’s the one he missed out on?
Van Dijk didn’t even hesitate with his answer.
“Kevin De Bruyne,” he says. “I think he’s unbelievable. If he would have played at Liverpool, we’d have gone even further than we already are.
“I think he’s outstanding. Good on the ball, pressing, scoring – he’s got everything as a modern day midfielder and footballer in general.
“I think he’s an outstanding player.”
Virgil van Dijk on his dream signing
De Bruyne has been incredible ever since joining Manchester City for £55m in 2015. The Belgian will comfortably go down as one of the best midfielders we’ve ever seen in English football.
So to say Liverpool would have been even better with him is an understatement. The Reds would have won everything for years – if only because City would have lost their most important player, too.
De Bruyne is a phenomenon, essentially, as Van Dijk makes clear. He does everything in midfield while also passing at the absolute highest level. It’s rare you find someone who can match the physicality at the top of the Premier League while also creating at an elite level.
In fact, Steven Gerrard is possibly the most obvious comparison in that regard – but he wasn’t generating this much creativity on his own.
Of course, De Bruyne will never play for Liverpool, which is a true shame. Given he grew up a Red, too, it feels a little like a missed opportunity.
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