If you are going to ask opposition managers about Liverpool tying Virgil van Dijk down for another two years, expect more responses like the one from Everton‘s David Moyes!
Van Dijk would have had opposition managers and players hoping he would fail to agree new terms to extend his stay at Anfield, such has been his importance to Liverpool since early 2018.
But while it has been a time of celebration for the Reds after news of his new deal, the sentiment will not exactly be shared by rivals, as summed up by Moyes.
• READ: Van Dijk asks 1 thing of LFC fans that we should all want to see
Asked in his press conference if it was good for the Premier League to retain the likes of Van Dijk and Mo Salah, Moyes bluntly said, “No.”
Clearly joking and taking the mickey out of the question, the Everton manager added: “Looks a bad signing, if you ask me. Can’t see how that player’s going to work at all.
“Looks a bad signing if you ask me!” ?
Everton manager David Moyes reacted to Virgil Van Dijk’s new contract at Liverpool ? pic.twitter.com/a6w2vMKQCb
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 17, 2025
“Can’t see how that’s going to work at all, to be honest.”
Finishing with a laugh, Moyes did spare a quick second to praise the Liverpool captain, saying: “He’s been a terrific player for Celtic and he’s certainly been a terrific player for Liverpool.”
It will not have been the question Everton fans would want posed to their manager ahead of their match against Man City, but it signifies which side of Liverpool drives the news lines.
Van Dijk has faced Everton 14 times during his time with the Reds, winning seven and drawing six – a record he will hope to boost in the coming two seasons after extending until 2027.
While in jest, Moyes’ comments do take us back to when Liverpool first signed the Dutchman for £75 million – a price tag many believed he did not warrant, how wrong they were!
Here we are more than seven years and counting.
‘No player could replace his aura’
Jack Lusby (@LusbyJack)
“If Liverpool had allowed Van Dijk to leave this summer they would have lost far more than the world’s best defender – it would have been near impossible to replace the impact he has at every level of the club.
“There may be other leaders in the squad – among them Andy Robertson, whose form can no longer match his influence – but no player could replace the aura their current captain brings.
“It would be an understatement to describe it as one less headache for Slot who, if he had lost Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Salah this summer, could have gone into a title defence with an all-new leadership group.
“Put simply, Van Dijk is the embodiment of this new era of success at Liverpool. Losing him could have been fatal.”
