PSV Eindhoven had ‘doubts’ about signing Liverpool’s Premier League and Champions League winner Virgil van Dijk during the Dutch international’s time at Groningen, former coach Robert Maaskant tells Brabants Dagblad.
Earlier this month, the £75 million centre-back told Gary Neville’s Overlap podcast that Sunderland had expressed an interest in taking him to Wearside before his bargain £2.6 million move to Celtic nearly a decade ago.
Sunderland are not the only club who may be wishing they could turn back the clock either. Eredivisie giants Feyenoord and PSV were both eyeing up a fresh-faced Van Dijk during his formative years the green of Groningen.
But, while the former couldn’t afford him, Maaskant believes the latter were put off following a high-profile blunder Van Dijk made during an audition against PSV in Holland’s top-flight.
PSV Eindhoven missed chance to sign Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk
“Virgil was a quiet, friendly guy. Very relaxed, very chill, very timid, with that deep voice of his”, Maaskant recalls.
“He lived with Tim Keurntjes; a boy who had come over from De Graafschap a few years earlier. Those two were buddies. Technically speaking, (Keurntjes) could also play much better football at that time, actually. Only he never really made it. Strange how that can happen.
“Feyenoord had no money. And, as far as PSV is concerned, there were some doubts about Virgil at the time. For example, he made a mistake against PSV that resulted in a goal against (his side).”
Van Dijk has come a long way since then. Even if his form – like that of many Liverpool team-mates – has left a lot to be desired at times in recent months. Van Dijk will captain Louis van Gaal’s side in Qatar; the Netherlands aiming to claim their first ever World Cup title.
“I can still remember a match of his with the Dutch Juniors against Young Italy,” Maaskant adds. “They were (ripped apart on the counter); really terrible. After that, we had to pull him out of a slump. You are judged as a talent in those kinds of matches.
“The Italians played with two small strikers – Lorenzo Insigne and Ciro Immobile – and he was not up to the challenge. (There were) questions: can he handle the top level?”
It’s fair to say that question has been answered rather emphatically.
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