Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk has assured the media that his price tag has not put him under any pressure so far this season nor hampered his performances as he has played an integral part to The Saints’ start to the season.
The commanding Dutchman was brought in by Ronald Koeman for a fee rumoured to be around £13 million; the second highest price for a defender from the Netherlands since the retired Jaap Stam of Manchester United.
However despite a fairly hefty price tag and being the record transfer fee for a defensive player ever at Southampton, van Dijk is living up to his expectations to say the very least.
Ah, there are more crazy amounts paid to footballers, as that is the football world we live in. It does not put any extra pressure on me, but it is fun to be on the list.
The 24-year-old summer signing has made an incredible impact on The Saints and has taken the Premier League by storm, recently being named as the second most in-form player overall in the league, according to Sky Sports News. Only Laurent Koscielny of Arsenal is ahead of him in this sense.
Van Dijk has also shown his threat at set pieces, contributing two goals already to The Saints’ rise to 7th in the league by hitting the back of the net against Swansea and Leicester respectively.
Speaking of how he has settled in to Southampton during the last two months, van Dijk was extremely happy with how he has been treated and about the influence of players and coaching staff that he had already worked with.
I ended up in a fantastic environment, with people I already knew. Of course Jordy Clasie, but also Dusan Tadic; I played with him at FC Groningen. There is also a physical trainer in the staff, whom I worked with at Celtic. All this has made it easier.
Virgil van Dijk has been absolutely crucial to The Saints and his performances earned him the club’s October Player of the Month award for his excellent displays.
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