Gerrard and Henderson’s 4-word message to Van Dijk in 2017 turned out to be wonderfully prophetic

Virgil van Dijk looks set to hoist the Premier League trophy in just his second season as Liverpool captain, and he may have his two immediate predecessors in that role to partly thank if that happens.

The Dutchman – who today penned a new two-year contract at Anfield – took over the armband from Jordan Henderson, who in turn had succeeded Steven Gerrard, with the two Englishmen having held the captaincy for a combined 20 years.

At the time that the now 33-year-old joined the Reds from Southampton midway through the 2017/18 campaign, he could easily have ended up at another club in the northwest of England whose immediate prospects of silverware were far more promising.

However, as detailed by Paul Joyce in a report for The Times about Van Dijk’s contract extension, the two Liverpool captains before him made a convincing case to choose a move to Merseyside.

What did Gerrard and Henderson say to Van Dijk?

The journalist outlined: ‘Manchester City had also been interested in the defender and there is little doubt that Van Dijk would have sampled success had he chosen to work under Pep Guardiola.

‘Yet it was impressed upon him during talks with Gerrard, and a text conversation with Henderson, that by choosing Liverpool he was treading a path that would see him achieve something more than that. That Van Dijk would win and also be bestowed with iconic status at a club where a passionate fan base was aligned to that which he had played in front of at Celtic earlier in his career.

‘“You’ll become a legend,” was the theme of the discussions.’

Van Dijk has fulfilled the prophecy from Gerrard and Henderson

The message from Gerrard and Henderson to Van Dijk towards the tail end of 2017 turned out to be wonderfully prophetic!

The Dutchman’s transfer to Liverpool was announced a couple of days after Christmas that year, becoming active once the January transfer window commenced, and the defender made an instant impact at Anfield by scoring a late winner on his debut to knock Everton out of the FA Cup.

He transformed a previously porous Reds defence into one of the most fearsome backlines in Europe, with the team conceding a miserly 22 league goals in his first full season on Merseyside, during which he also won the Champions League. He’d finish 2019 second to Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or.

It was no coincidence that LFC regressed when Van Dijk was sidelined with an ACL injury for most of 2020/21 and then, once he was back fit for the following campaign, came within two matches of winning an unprecedented quadruple.

The 33-year-old isn’t just one of the Premier League’s best-ever defenders but also one of the greatest in Liverpool’s history, with The Athletic‘s Simon Hughes noting how he combines the stature of the late Ron Yeats with the grace of Alan Hansen.

Gerrard and Henderson were absolutely right when they told the Dutchman that he’d become a legend at Anfield.

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