Jaap Stam has warned Liverpool not to let Virgil van Dijk depart the club
Jaap Stam has warned Liverpool to avoid making the same “mistake” with Virgil van Dijk as Alex Ferguson did by bringing his Manchester United career to an end prematurely.
Former Netherlands international Stam was abruptly offloaded to Lazio in 2001 for around £16m before Ferguson later conceded the transfer was a misstep on his part, revealing in 2007: “It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, but in playing terms it was a mistake”. Former United defender Stam thinks Liverpool are now at risk of a similar situation where Dutch captain Van Dijk is concerned.
Van Dijk is free to discuss terms with clubs outside of England from January 1 and will be a free agent at the end of the campaign as things stands. Talks are ongoing with the club captain over a new contract but a breakthrough has yet to be made.
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Stam thinks a move to the United States could be a possibility for his compatriot but also floated Real Madrid as a possible destination for the Reds skipper if a new deal at Anfield cannot be agreed.
Stam told Sport Lens: “Sir Alex has said it was a mistake to sell me at Manchester United and Liverpool don’t want to make that same mistake with Virgil van Dijk.
“They are not in a position in which they need to let him go and even though he is 33, you cannot bring in a player of his level. If Virgil van Dijk leaves Liverpool then I could see him playing for a few years in the United States to see out his career, earning a lot of money.
“But I still see him as being a really important player at Liverpool and I can’t see why Liverpool wouldn’t try their best to keep him at the club because of that importance.
“I think he deserves a new contract and a new deal, maybe only for one season, and then you see where you go from there. You have to look at who would replace him in the transfer market or the academy but that’s extremely hard to do.
“It’s going to be very difficult to replace a player like Virgil and he deserves another one or two years, he’s shown he is still the best option for the club. I could see Virgil van Dijk saying in Europe, but he is playing in a Liverpool team that he knows very well and they have a real balance.
“If he goes and joins another club he will have new team-mates and his whole situation will change. You can say that the players at Bayern Munich or PSG aren’t up to the level of his team-mates at Liverpool.
“The style of play will change and it could be a bad thing for his career to leave. Look at how it was for Lionel Messi when he first joined PSG from Barcelona. It’s going to be a very important decision for him and the club and I think that Real Madrid might be the only good option for him in Europe at the moment.”
