Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has insisted that Alexander Isak has been signed as a “replacement”, rather than an addition to the squad, seemingly for the departed Darwin Núñez.
Arne Slot has hit back at criticism of Liverpool’s aggressive £450 million ($614.9 million) record-breaking summer of spending, both reminding detractors of the players who have left for big money and claiming that it is absolutely necessary to pay big fees to improve an already elite squad.
Van Dijk followed a similar line when speaking at a press conference ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid. The captain suggested the Reds went into the market because Núñez, Luis Díaz and others departing left gaps in the squad—critically speaking, one might argue they were let go in the first place to make room for new arrivals, as few could reasonably claim that Isak isn’t an enormous upgrade on the misfiring Núñez.
“It’s not really an addition, it’s a replacement because obviously we’ve got players with a lot of quality who have left us, so we obviously had to replace these players that were so important for us and that we had successes with,” Van Dijk reasoned.
“Obviously it comes with a price tag and the price tag we have no control of,” he added, referring to the £125 million British record fee it took to rip Isak away from Newcastle United.
“I totally understand from the outside world there will always be talks about that and that creates sort of pressure, but it’s down to him and obviously with us we don’t speak about those things.”
Isak joined Liverpool lacking fitness after sitting out much of Newcastle’s preseason in an attempt to force a transfer. The Swede didn’t feature as his new club beat Burnley over the weekend but is in line for a debut against Atlético. “He's in the squad and the chance to play, I would usually say 99.9% sure but I can say 100% sure he will not play 90 minutes but he's part of the squad,” Slot said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Not Really’—Virgil van Dijk Sets Record Straight on Alexander Isak Arrival.