Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has weighed in on the club’s record-breaking transfer business, stating the Van Dijk Isak replacement narrative is accurate. The defender insisted the Swedish striker was signed to fill gaps left by departed players, rather than simply being an ‘addition’ to the squad.
His comments follow a similar line to manager Arne Slot, who recently defended the club’s aggressive £450 million summer spending. Van Dijk suggested the Reds entered the market because key players like Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz departed, leaving voids that had to be filled.
“It’s not really an addition, it’s a replacement because obviously we’ve got players with a lot of quality who have left us, so we obviously had to replace these players that were so important for us and that we had successes with,” Van Dijk reasoned at a press conference.
Referring to the £125 million British record fee paid for Isak, he added: “Obviously it comes with a price tag and the price tag we have no control of. I totally understand from the outside world there will always be talks about that and that creates sort of pressure, but it’s down to him and obviously with us we don’t speak about those things.”
Isak, who missed the weekend victory over Burnley, is in the squad for Wednesday’s Champions League opener against Atlético Madrid. Manager Arne Slot confirmed the Swede will feature but stated he is “100% sure he will not play 90 minutes.”