On the morning of August 5, Van Dijk's transfer fee record for a defender was broken. Liverpool's £75 million spent to welcome him from Southampton has moved to second in the table as Man United successfully bought Maguire for £80 million.
The Liverpool centre-back admitted that he was once the world's most expensive defender, bringing a lot of pressure. However, pressure is always present in football and Van Dijk wants Maguire to do well in the coming time.
"I want to send him good luck. I do not want to mention transfer prices because it will change continuously over time.
I believe Maguire does not feel pressured about that. The pressure does not come from the figure of 80 million pounds because just playing for Man United, it is a very difficult challenge to do well", Van Dijk shared.
When Liverpool spent 75 million pounds to overcome all opponents, thereby obtaining Van Dijk's signature, many skeptical eyes turned to coach Jurgen Klopp. A team that takes attack as a whole as Liverpool should have used that money to invest in a spearhead.
But no, Klopp knows what the club lacks and does everything to have veteran Southampton. The result after 2 years is far beyond what Klopp could have imagined. Liverpool have reached the Champions League final twice and were crowned once. They finished second in the Premier League last season with a record score of 97.
In that same success, Van Dijk has a role no less than the Salah - Firmino - Mane trio in attack. His 64 consecutive games without a man has taken all doubts away and given many new definitions for a perfect centre-back.
With Maguire and coach Ole Solskjaer, Man United's current situation is no different from Liverpool 2 years ago. A defense that is dense in quantity but goes against quality has made the "Red Devils" regret it for nearly 6 years.
After the period of the duo Carragher - Hyypia, The Kop had Van Dijk as a support. And now, after the Vidic - Ferdinand era, Man United are pinning all their faith on Maguire.
At least, that belief is well-founded like Van Dijk because Maguire is no stranger to English football. Not only that, he also has significant experience under coach Gareth Southgate at DT England. Although he is not old enough to be an "old" center back (26 years old), the experience that Maguire possesses that not everyone who wants can have the opportunity to experience.
Next season, in each English derby between Man United and Liverpool, in addition to the excellence of the attack, the performance of the two most expensive defensive stars in the world will attract a lot of attention.
After the success he has had, Van Dijk is confident enough to challenge Maguire. Hopefully the new star at Old Trafford will not be overwhelmed and achieve Man United's expectations.
