Virgil van Dijk

[Lancet Fluke]

Who actually gives a shit about the fee anyway? IMO we as a fan base have been far too apologetic over our spending since 2008. Constantly arguing over spending £44m for Sterling not £49m as if it makes a difference. We should be owning it, and talking about how we walked up to liverpool and took their best prospect and there's nothing they could do about it. We are possibly the wealthiest club in the world, people are always going to try and asterisk our successes with money anyway, spending 50m on VVD instead of 70m won't change that.

As long as we can stay the right side of FFP and manage to get all our targets, I don't care how much they cost.

I certainly don't give a shit as long as I think the player is worth buying. I hope we pay whatever it takes to get VVD in January because I think he'd make a huge difference to our team and squad. If we paid 80m for VVD I wouldn't give a shit, there's a scarcity of decent options at CB so I'm convinced clubs will be paying fortunes for CBs next summer. But then I'd be disappointed if we spent 30m on Evans because I think it'd be a waste of money. Not because I think Evans is totally shit but I just don't think he'd make a huge difference.

 

[aguero93:20]

What a player is worth can be measured by KPI data.

However, what a selling club asks for & the buying club are willing to pay is a metric that cannot be measured.

It can be judged by KPI data, yes, as long as the values used are relevant to the transfer market itself, which they're ignoring. You don't allocate the same values across different sports for that reason.

 

[Silva_Spell]

For me, Van Dijk is pretty much the perfect modern CB
Tall, strong, monster in the air, mobile, composed on the ball, good passer, and a pretty unique ability to stride into midfield (not unlike Kompany when he was at his best)

There would be 3 alternatives to him, at least in terms of well known CBs

(-/+ compared to VVD)
Alderweireld
+can cover RB
+contract issues could make transfer easier
+probably slightly better long passing ability
-not great in the air
-2 years older than Van Dijk
-Future hamstring problems? (speculation on my part)

Koulibaly
+can play DM
-not great in the air

Laporte
+could cover LB at a push
+leftfooted
+3 years younger
-slower (big issue imo)

- All 3 lack VVD's ability to stride into midfield

 

[nmc]

For me it’s the new Gaz Baz, Liverpool toy with the idea for a couple of windows then we swoop in and get him for less than they were said to be paying........ we go on to win some trophies and they don’t.

When you put it like that.... : )

 

[nmc]

They ask for £70m, It's £70 m, for a defender? No please, rather go for james tarkowski around £20m (burnley dedefender)

That £20m will be £40m by the summer.

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

That £20m will be £40m by the summer.

and as proven by Keane, at Burnley it's the system not the player.

 

[Dax777]

Take Kompany out of the equation and we could have a similar CB pool to Bayern currently. Stones is Boateng, good on the ball, regular starter. Van Dijk is Hummels, great in the air, imposing and good from set-pieces. Otamendi is Javi Martinez and Mangala, the backup, is Badstuber. Problem with this is keeping them all happy.

I think in this analogy, Badstuber is actually Kompany. A talented but injury prone player.

 

[Dax777]

Would people rather have Van Dijk or Alderweireld

Van Dink

 

[abu13]

I have a feeling that we could get VVD for less that Liverpool were quoted, it's well known that Southamton were fuming about the way the dippers conducted themselves and if we came in with a bid of over £50 million I am sure it would be considered. It may be that also loan them Tosin.

 

[cjn]

Who actually gives a shit about the fee anyway? IMO we as a fan base have been far too apologetic over our spending since 2008. Constantly arguing over spending £44m for Sterling not £49m as if it makes a difference. We should be owning it, and talking about how we walked up to liverpool and took their best prospect and there's nothing they could do about it. We are possibly the wealthiest club in the world, people are always going to try and asterisk our successes with money anyway, spending 50m on VVD instead of 70m won't change that.

As long as we can stay the right side of FFP and manage to get all our targets, I don't care how much they cost.

Agreed x100. We won't have huge spending needs over the next few years and the fee being quoted isn't even that crazy given the inflation in the market. Oh and by the way, we have Pep f'ing Guardiola as our manager, right now, and for who knows how much longer. These are special times. We can make the team better and people want James Tarkowski instead because he'll be cheaper? Come on now.