Neil Warnock gave a lively and interesting press-conference ahead of Cardiff’s trip to Anfield tomorrow afternoon.
During the chat, Warnock was extremely complimentary about a number of our players, as if to play down his own side’s expectations.
Interestingly, he chose Virgil van Dijk for special praise – stating that he could have bought the Dutchman in 2014 for £6m – but the Crystal Palace chief scout thought he wasn’t fast enough…
“Van Dijk – I’m delighted he’s playing like he is,” said Warnock, cited by talkSPORT.
“We could have bought him at Palace for £6million but my chief scout told me he was too slow. I think he’s still in a job as well!”
Not only is van Dijk plenty fast enough, but he’s a terrific reader of the game, a true leader, wonderful in the air and probably the most composed centre-back we’ve ever seen on a football pitch.
For a scout to think the Dutchman wasn’t worth £6m is pretty damning and if we were Warnock, would be similarly annoyed!
Van Dijk eventually joined Southampton from Celtic for around double the fee Palace rejected him, before Liverpool paid £75m for his services in January 2018.
And he’s been worth every penny.
Since van Dijk’s arrival, Liverpool have the best defensive record of any side in the Premier League.