Virgil van Dijk

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Stuck in my mind last year that when we played them (won 3-1 I think), I felt genuinely sorry for him during the game
He was another level above his team mates even when playing out from the back and he just had nobody on his wave-length

Can remember him gliding forward from CB and taking a few players on before cracking the bar from about 35 yards. No idea how he will settle considering the problem behind our defensive issues is the set up, constant changing and lack of midfield protection, but it ain't my money..
 
FantasyIreland said:
You have to feel sorry for Pep having these players thrust on him by the DoF,what must he think??
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Good one. So you think he's worth £50m?

When you look at the players who've gone for good value, such as Alderweireld, Matip, Koscielny, etc, it shows that they're out there. We need to do better in our recruitment.
 
Otamendi's Beard said:
Scary that any half decent defender is valued at £50m.

He's clearly a good player but another extortionate Txiki purchase. Can we not spot any value elsewhere?
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FantasyIreland said:
You have to feel sorry for Pep having these players thrust on him by the DoF,what must he think??
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I think the point being made is that Southampton got VVD for a lot less than the £50m quoted. Everton got Stones for a lot less than we paid. I'm sure the likes of Mangala and Otamendi cost relatively modest fees prior to City going after them.

VVD could well prove to be a very good signing, and if we do sign him then I'm sure Pep will be the one giving it the nod. However, at some point we have to be the ones scouting and unearthing the hidden gems rather than paying over the odds for players discovered by scouts elsewhere.
 
Otamendi's Beard said:
Good one. So you think he's worth £50m?

When you look at the players who've gone for good value, such as Alderweireld, Matip, Koscielny, etc, it shows that they're out there. We need to do better in our recruitment.
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Why are you so concerned about the money? We have buckets of the stuff. I couldn't give a stuff if he costs 250million if he improves the team.
 
This guy is class, pay the fee, get him in, this time it won't be wasted. He is everything we need, PL proven, and we know defenders usually take the longest to settle, so this is important.

Yes, we have spent a lot on CBs, but Stones and Van Dijk could be our defensive pairing for a long time. They can learn from Kompany and Tosin will be waiting in the wings. Otamendi will still play but we are desperate for that physical presence in the middle. Hopefully Vinny gets fit and then Stones-Vinny,,Otamendi--Vinny,, Stones--Van Dijk,, Otamendi--Van Dijk are the pairings that I would like to see. Having one huge, physical defender is a must in PL. Our CB group would be the best in the league.

The thing with uncovering gems is that it very risky for a club with our ambitions. Summer comes we gamble on 10-15M players, believing they will be great, they turn out not so good and we're in big trouble. We can gamble on these gems as back ups, not starting players. Lets face it we want to win the PL and CL soon so lets buy top talent and pay the money. Nobody is going to care about fees when we are crowned champions.

Like others have said with Van Dijk, we can play the back 3 more often and then go for quality full backs in the summer.

I believe he could be the difference in winning the league this season.
 
Hope this happens. Proven he can mix it in the prem, young, quick, strong and unplayable in the air. People moaning about the price tag none of the top teams will get a better CB for less they are a rare commodity these days unless like you say you risk buying players with promise but unproven? That's not what we need right now we need a proven prem defender who can mix it and that's either him or alderwield who I would say we could get in January.
 
God I hope not. Stones 2.0.

Bad enough we've one inexperienced CB learning this system with gash fb's. Adding another is a recipe for disaster.

IMO get decent fb's and take stock of how stones and otamendi perform then, rather then this ridiculous approach to keep buying half decent cb's and ignoring the obvious issue causing them all to look shite.
 
If we're going for the title and CL this has to happen. There is no way we will come close to either with our current centre half pairings. VVD will be the new Kompany. He's been immense this season VVD and Stones will be our long-term centre halfs. That will free up Kolorav to fight for a full back place. Our full backs are good emough until next Summer, when 2 can be brought in.
 
Thaksinssoldier said:
God I hope not. Stones 2.0.

Bad enough we've one inexperienced CB learning this system with gash fb's. Adding another is a recipe for disaster.

IMO get decent fb's and take stock of how stones and otamendi perform then, rather then this ridiculous approach to keep buying half decent cb's and ignoring the obvious issue causing them all to look shite.
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If Van Dijk, coming up on 26 with 246 professional games under his belt is inexperienced, when does the great "experienced" tag get bestowed on someone, 35? 30?


Anyway it's highly likely that we'd go to 3 at the back, which is clearly Pep's preference, if Van Dijk came in so the fullbacks wouldn't be an issue.

3 at the back being a formation Van Dijk is very familiar with of course, having played it for the last 2 years at Southampton.
 
domalino said:
If Van Dijk, coming up on 26 with 246 professional games under his belt is inexperienced, when does the great "experienced" tag get bestowed on someone, 35? 30?


Anyway it's highly likely that we'd go to 3 at the back, which is clearly Pep's preference, if Van Dijk came in so the fullbacks wouldn't be an issue.
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Age and experience aren't the same thing pal, he's had zero experience at a high level. Calling games at Celtic or Southampton as worthy of calling yourself experienced at our level is a major reach.
 
You know, Denayer is getting better and better reports at Sunderland, I've been noticing. Of course, that's not a solution for January. No way is the club paying any less than £50,000,000 for van Dijk if we move in January. Southampton will know they can virtually ask what they like. The way I look at it is, what would be an acceptable first-season performance for Pep (not simply from our perspective, but from the Chairman and the Sheik's), given the transition and that you don't court a man for three years and give him three years to set up properly, and then chuck him out, barring utter disaster? I would think that top four and CL qualification is the minimum. With the current set-up, we're not getting near winning Champions League this season, and even the league looks, well, possible, but difficult. We're just shipping too many goals. Even that Arsenal goal, you look at it and think, how was that so easy? If the club wants silverware this season, I would think that a January move is necessary. Otherwise, the club may feel that we can live without it, knowing that next summer will definitely involve a major overhaul of the defence.
 
Thaksinssoldier said:
Age and experience aren't the same thing pal, he's had zero experience at a high level. Calling games at Celtic or Southampton as worthy of calling yourself experienced at our level is a major reach.
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Of course, how can he be expected to do well in the Premier League when he's only been doing it for 2 seasons?

If he comes in and we play 3 at the back, he'd be the most experienced defender we'd have. Because he would be the only one to have experience in the system.

He's got experience keeping clean sheets against Leicester, something none of our "experienced at the top level" defenders could muster.

I'm not enamoured with the huge price tag, but Van Dijk has league experience, playing in the sort of system we want, and is a leader in defence. He's fast, strong, tall (which we need) and ticks all the boxes on the ball as well as his defending.

If you sit around looking for a defender that's got years and years of experience at "the top level" they aren't gettable, or they are so old it's a short term fix and we're looking to build a team for the next 5 years +
 
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