Journalist Claims Virgil van Dijk 'More Valuable' to Liverpool Than £130m Philippe Coutinho

Liverpool's £75m signing Virgil van Dijk is worth double the fee the Reds paid Southampton, and is now far more valuable than former star Philippe Coutinho,

Liverpool's £75m signing Virgil van Dijk is worth double the fee the Reds paid Southampton, and is now far more valuable than former star Philippe Coutinho, according to journalist Tom Collomosse.

Jurgen Klopp's side are four points clear at the top of the Premier League table and have conceded just seven goals in their 18 league games so far this season.

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With van Dijk a commanding presence at the back since his arrival from Southampton last January, Collomosse has insisted the Reds could conceivably demand 'double' what they paid for if rival clubs were interested.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, he said (as quoted by the Daily Star): "They could quite easily argue if someone came in for van Dijk, we're not talking until you offer us double and we'll start negotiating at that point.

"I think Neymar distorted the market so much, didn't he? That's what Liverpool would ask if anyone came in for him.

"They sold Coutinho for £130m, well van Dijk is probably more valuable to Liverpool now than Coutinho ever was."

With many of the Liverpool squad short of title-winning experience at their former clubs, Collomosse claimed van Dijk's history with Celtic could prove to be a major asset in the dressing room.

He added: "I think the interesting thing with van Dijk is he does have experience of winning titles.

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"Admittedly it was in Scotland where the standard was not so high, but there is a degree of pressure on you in Celtic, a knowledge that is required of how to get over the line.

"That could be important in the second half of the season, because you look at that squad, there ain't many medals in there in serious leagues."