It was embarrassing how we handled Liverpool transfer saga - But we didn't love what they did

Van Dijk

Liverpool broke their club-record to sign Alexander Isak on transfer deadline day after seeing the Sweden international help force an exit from Newcastle United.

But throughout the summer, the Magpies had been adamant that the striker was not for sale

At one point, it looked like the Reds might have been made to wait in their efforts to sign the 25-year-old, only for Newcastle to soften their public stance towards the end of the transfer window.

Consequently, Liverpool were successful in their efforts to sign Isak.

But prior to the Reds concluding a deal for the striker, supporters were reminded of the club’s previous record-signing of Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman joined Liverpool in a £75m deal from Southampton in January 2018.

But his move only came after the Reds had been forced to end interest in the centre-back the previous summer as they were accused of making an illegal approach to Van Dijk.

In an official statement at the time, the club said: “Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs.

“We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk.

“We respect Southampton's position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player.”

That did not stop Liverpool from revisiting their interest the following window and landing Van Dijk in a £75m deal.

Looking back on the transfer saga, former Southampton CEO Martin Semmens has now admitted he considers it ‘embarrassing’ how the Saints handled the situation at the time.

Lifting the lid on how Liverpool’s conduct had angered Southampton, he also conceded that forcing Van Dijk to stay put at St. Mary’s backfired on the club.

Semmens

“Virgil van Dijk was a big one for us,” he recalled.

“We treated him in a different way and said, ‘You can’t go’. It didn’t work well for us.

“We didn’t [get him back on our side]. Virgil was fantastic, in my opinion, he trained at 75 [percent] and played at 75 [percent] and was still the best player in the team, if not the league.

“He didn’t cause us any problems. He never said a single bad word to anyone, but he wanted to go, and it wasn’t effective for us to keep the player.

“We kept him until January. It wasn’t good for the squad or the environment, but to be clear, Virgil never said one negative word to anybody.

“We felt, at the time, we could get more if he stayed. He’d had a bad injury, I think he’d been out for six to nine months and we felt that he owed us, which is embarrassing now I think back to it.

“There was also some contact from Liverpool we didn’t love.

“At that time, probably a little more for the morals, he had already met Klopp before he told us.

“But in the end, he did a very good job for us and we sold him for a good price.”

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