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The drama of Virgil van Dijk leaving Southampton and making his preferred move to Liverpool was the story of the summer. Twists and turns seemed to happen every few days during that window, and though Klopp didn’t snag his man before the deadline, he made sure to get him when the January window opened, regardless of price.
So how does van Dijk feel about his manager now that he’s had a few months to get used to him? He answered that question in the build up to Liverpool’s crucial second leg quarterfinal fixture against Manchester City on Tuesday.
“Jurgen is the complete manager,” van Dijk said.
“He is a fantastic team manager and player manager as well. The passion he shows on the touchline stays more in people’s minds because that is what you see, but he is much more than that. You don’t see all the hard work we put in behind the scenes. He has shown already that he is an outstanding manager. I knew that from day one that it was the right decision to come here.”
With Liverpool close to clinching both a top four spot in the league and a place in the Champions League semi-final, it’s no wonder the world seems rosy to the Dutchman.
The lovefest between player and manager seems to be going strong, and long may it continue.