Virgil Van Dijk has won another award ahead of the Champions League final.
There were several question marks raised when Liverpool paid a huge 75 million to secure the services of Virgil Van Dijk. The Dutch International was tipped to move before the kick start of last season, but the Reds were hit with tap-up allegations.
There were fears about interest from Chelsea and Manchester City, but the board had repaired the mix-up between these two clubs to land him six months later. Besides, Jurgen Klopp, who rarely pays up, was not hesitating about the prospect of spending £75 million on a player. The significant improvement he has done in Liverpool’s backline is stupendous, to say the least.
Liverpool were leaking goals for fun during the first part of last season, but their backline has become stabilized since the signing of Van Dijk. The Dutch International has played a pivotal role in qualification to back-to-back Champions League final. His presence at the back has cut down the huge gap between Liverpool and Manchester City.
Although Liverpool failed to end their league title drought, Jurgen Klopp’s men conceded just 22 goals, which is mainly down to the presence of Virgil Van Dijk. They had conceded 16 more goals in the league a year before. This speaks volumes about his significance in the backline.
For his tremendous campaign, Liverpool’s number four was rewarded with the PFA Player of the Year award. He became the first player since John Terry to lift this award in 2005. He was also included in the PFA Team of the season, thereby earning veneration for his monumental displays. He also crowned as America’s Player of the year.
Van Dijk bagged another award by winning the Liverpool’s Player of the year. The 27-year-old is the first name on the team sheet and has been heads and shoulders ahead of the other Liverpool players in terms of consistency. Rightfully, even players voted for Virgil Van Dijk as he lifted Liverpool’s Players’ player of the year.
The Reds had scored two memorable goals against Chelsea this season, but there is only one winner. Mohamed Salah, who scored an outrageous scorcher from outside the box has won Liverpool’s goal of the season.
Here’s how Twitter reacted..
What’s next?
Liverpool and Virgil Van Dijk will hope to lift the Champions League on Saturday.
