Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says £75m fee was 'the last thing' on his mind when signing Virgil van Dijk
- Jurgen Klopp says Virgil van Dijk price was something Liverpool had to accept
- Van Dijk will become the most expensive defender when he moves for £75m
- Klopp has been surprised by the skyrocketing transfer fees in the English game
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Jurgen Klopp says the thought of money did not enter his head over the soon-to-be-completed £75m move for Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool will compete the signing of the Southampton defender when the transfer window reopens on January 1.
The fee is a world record for a defender and has sparked criticism from some quarters, with claims that the Anfield club have paid over the odds.
Jurgen Klopp says he was only concerned with the quality of Virgil van Dijk, not the price
Klopp says Liverpool have had to adapt their expectations to an inflating transfer market
But the manager says that Liverpool are simply adapting to changes in the market.
‘The last thing I think about is the price,’ he said. ‘It’s not because I throw money around. We only think about the player.
'You get the price and you have to accept it or not. We have to adapt to it. It a big change. It’s not nice, but that’s the market, that’s the world.’
Klopp admitted that the last six months have seen huge changes, with prices for elite level players skyrocketing.
‘I’m surprised about the development in the last two years because there were big steps and the last half year changed everything,’ he said. ‘We as a club cannot change that.’
Liverpool will pay a world-record fee of £75million for the Dutch defender on January 1
Meanwhile the German, speaking ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Leicester City, said his decision to hand Philippe Coutinho the captain’s armband should not be seen as an attempt to try and convince the Barcelona target to stay at Anfield.
The Catalonian club had a £115m bid for the Brazilian playmaker turned down in the summer and are expected to return next month.
‘I don’t want to make the story less romantic,’ Klopp joked. ‘When Hendo (Jordan Henderson) and Milly (James Milner) are not playing I need to look. Long servant - that’s why he’s captain.
'Maybe I could be smarter and give him the armband and he’ll never leave but that’s not how it works. It’s just an armband. A job.’
Klopp will hand Philippe Coutinho the captain's armband for Liverpool's game with Leicester
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