John Barnes urges Liverpool to sign Virgil van Dijk

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 30 April 2017

Liverpool legend John Barnes urges the club to sign Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk this summer and does not believe that they should be put off by his price tag.

Former Liverpool winger John Barnes has expressed his belief that Virgil van Dijk would be a good signing for the club this summer.

The Southampton centre-back has been heavily linked with a big-money move away from St Mary's at the end of the season, with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal also thought to be interested in his services.

Reports have suggested that it could take a bid of more than £50m to prise the 25-year-old away from Southampton, but Barnes does not believe that Liverpool should be put off by the price tag.

"I've seen enough of him from when he was at Celtic to know that Van Dijk is a very talented defender. It would be great. He's a quality player. I think Jurgen Klopp does like him and if he comes to Liverpool I think that would be a good signing," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"It doesn't matter how much it takes. You can sign a good player for £5m or a good player for £50m. If that's the market value, it's the market value. I'm more interested in the qualities that a player could bring to the team rather than the transfer fee. Of course if it doesn't work out then it's a lot of money to spend on a failure. But whenever you sign a player there's a risk.

"Paul Pogba was £90m. Has Pogba played like the best footballer in the world? No, but he's a good player who can help Manchester United in the future. If it takes spending £50m to get Van Dijk and Klopp wants to do that and believes that's the right deal for the club then I'd back him."

Van Dijk has made 21 Premier League appearances for Southampton this season but has not featured since January due to injury.