We’re honestly not sure if this needs to be done so publicly after the furore our initial chase caused, but Reds hero John Aldridge makes a point nonetheless.
Our former striker reckons that in order to push through the transfer of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool, the Dutchman could go ‘on strike’ and refuse to kick another ball for his club.
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Liverpool are currently not openly pursuing the 25-year-old after Southampton reported us to the Premier League for illegally approaching him, but most observers presume there’ll be another attempt later in the summer when the water cools – especially if van Dijk makes his feelings clear.
“Tapping up goes on all the time in the game and even if Liverpool went a bit far in their pursuit of Van Dijk before they spoke to Southampton, I don’t believe this transfer story is dead in the water,” Aldo told the Sunday World.
“Van Dijk needs to make the next move and I reckon he will tell Southampton that he wants out and he wants to go to Liverpool.
“Players and their agents hold all the power these days and if he says he won’t kick another ball for Southampton and demands a move, it will happen.
“I don’t like the way the game has gone in some ways and players can hold clubs to ransom if they want a move and big money offers are coming in, but that’s the way of the world now.
“Let’s look at the facts here: Southampton paid £13m for this guy a couple of years ago and they could end up making a profit of around £40m on him.
“I believe Celtic have a sell-on clause in the contract that will give them a handy sum of cash, but Southampton will be in the money and the cash they get from selling Van Dijk could give their new manager a massive transfer kitty to work with.
“So I still see this transfer happening one way or the other and I certainly hope it does because I’d like to have seen a little more movement from Liverpool in the transfer market this summer.”
Aldridge’s comments, while they’ll no doubt infuriate Southampton fans, make sense.
But if we heard Barcelona legends encouraging Coutinho to go on strike, our blood would boil, so it’s important we approach the rest of the chase for van Dijk with respect.
Ultimately, the player will know what he wants to do, and we should probably avoid such aggressive tactics and remain patient.
Good things come to those who wait!