In an astute and comprehensive guide published in The Times this week, Paul Joyce has claimed that “Virgil van Dijk should be among the next group of players to be rewarded given his impact.
The Dutchman’s arrival at Anfield in January 2018 has been the turning point for Jürgen Klopp’s Reds.
As the PFA Player of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season, Van Dijk has transformed our defence into one of the meanest, most impregnable backlines in Europe and now we should reward him for living up to, then exceeding his potential for us.
According to Joyce: “The evolution of the club’s strategy under owners Fenway Sports Group means where once they spent to buy, now money is spent to retain.
“The contract extensions of eight players since last April, including Mo Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino means the combined incremental cost of wage rises alone is between £150 million and £200 million.”
According to the Independent.ie, at a staggering £151m we’ve got the biggest payout from television appearances (£80.4m basic fee from television deal, plus £36.6m for 29 televised games to Manchester City’s 26 and £36.5m for second-place).
When you think about amount we’ve earned from reaching back-to-back Champions League finals on top of that we can more than afford to pay our stars handsomely.
Klopp’s side is now nearly complete and in Van Dijk we have the complete defender. We’re finally in a position to pay big money to keep world-class players at Anfield and its an absolute must that Van Dijk follows suit with Salah, Mané, and Bobby and is given a bumper new contract.