Neil Lennon believes Virgil van Dijk could have cost Liverpool £50million less

Liverpool signed Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk for £75million a year ago, breaking the bank to make him their record-signing.

The former Southampton man hit the ground running, helping them to the Champions League final, and has already helped them go top of the Premier League table this term.

Van Dijk is now widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs on the planet, and he’s without a doubt good value for such a hefty fee.

However, his former manager at Celtic Neil Lennon believes Liverpool might have snatched him for as little as £25million had they acted earlier.

“The only surprise, to me, was that he didn’t move from Celtic earlier – because he was a standout player,” Lennon told SportsMail.

“Why he didn’t go to a bigger club earlier, I don’t know. In the end, it cost Liverpool £75m when it maybe could have cost them £50m less, if they had really looked at him.

“He had fantastic temperament, fantastic physique and his all-round qualities; he was just a Rolls-Royce. He could go through the gears when he wanted to. Technically unbelievable. We got him for just over 2m euros. I couldn’t believe my luck, really.”

Liverpool have improved massively with Van Dijk within their ranks, conceding just eight league goals and keeping 12 clean sheets in 20 games.

Manager Jurgen Klopp surely got it right beating competition to the signature of the defensive powerhouse, and he is proving to be very crucial to their title aspirations.

It is unknown how Liverpool would have faired had they gotten him earlier for a lesser price, but they sure have no regrets splashing the cash on him.