Dwight Yorke has praised Liverpool and Arsenal for the transfer captures of Virgil van Dijk and Declan Rice.
Even though Declan Rice only moved to Arsenal in the summer, he is already proving to be one of his side’s most important players and perhaps the first name on Mikel Arteta’s team sheet.
The same could be said for Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool. The difference here is that the £75 million signing has been doing it for much longer and he has the trophies to his name.
That’s going to be the aim for Arsenal’s £105 million signing because there was a lot of noise around him when he moved from West Ham United in the summer.
Despite not having a trophy to his name yet, former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke thinks Declan Rice is already a ‘value’ buy and it has been ‘money well spent’ from the club, as he told Premier League Productions (04/02/24 at 1:25 pm).
The same was applied to Virgil van Dijk when Dwight Yorke was looking at a list of the Premier League’s most expensive transfers.
To nobody’s surprise, it’s topped by Chelsea and one of their purchases was used as an example when discussing Liverpool and Arsenal’s defensive duo.
Virgil van Dijk and Declan Rice value for money
“The players at the top (of the Premier League’s most expensive transfers) as well, the Caicedo’s and those types of players,” said Yorke.
“When you spend that type of money, then you expect a sort of performance in return on the money you have invested. You can easily say that with Declan Rice and certainly van Dijk. That money has been returned to this point.
“Although, Arsenal haven’t won anything since Rice has gone in there and, hopefully, he might do that in the time he is there. But the reality is that van Dijk has certainly contributed to that and has won multiple championships.
“You can’t knock those two players. Those players you can easily say are value and money well spent.”
Declan Rice is thriving at Arsenal
There was so much noise and hype around the 25-year-old, even before he could sign on the dotted line for Arsenal.
This was the player all the fans wanted, even more so than a striker and everyone can now see why there was so much need to have Rice on board.
Heading towards the crunch moments of the Premier League season, and after Arsenal beat Liverpool to open up the title race, their club-record transfer has been their Player of the Season.
It wouldn’t be a surprise when the final ball is kicked that he wins, not just the Supporters’ Player of the Year, but the Players’ Player of the Year.
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