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Virgil van Dijk offers Harry Maguire advice on being the world's most-expensive defender
Virgil van Dijk’s £75million move from Southampton to Liverpool last January set the benchmark for defensive signings until Manchester United spent £80m on Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.
Maguire has signed a six-year deal at Old Trafford and is expected to make his debut for United on Sunday in their opening Premier League game against Chelsea and ahead of the game, Van Dijk has wished him good luck.
“I wish him well,” the Anfield centre half said. “Good luck to him. I can’t say anything about the (record) fee because there was always going to be a time when it was going to change. That’s the market. He doesn’t have any influence on that - the price comes with pressure but it doesn’t change too much because you always have pressure at big clubs like Man United. Every club is doing their business in the market and every club has its own strategy. He doesn’t have any influence on that at all.”
His advice to Maguire is to not carry the weight of the fee on his shoulders and try to justify it, but instead, revel in the opportunity it brings.
“Just focus on doing what you love to do and play your best game,” he said to the new United defender. “Get your qualities out of the pitch, enjoy your game and don’t think about the other things. It is not easy to completely shut off all the pressure. Personally, I like to put things in perspective. Quite a lot of things are more important than playing football and what we do, we are blessed. We can do what we love to do and also to play for Liverpool – they are such a big club. You need to enjoy it but the pressure will always be there.”
Standings
England, Premier League