LONDON: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has questioned his counterpart Jurgen Klopp over Liverpool’s decision to sign defender Virgil van Dijk on a record fee by reminding him he was once critical of Paul Pogba’s world record move to Old Trafford. Dutchman Van Dijk is expected to join Liverpool from Southampton as the world’s most expensive defender with British media reporting the deal to be worth 75 million pounds (US$101.4 million). “Virgil van Dijk is the most expensive defender in history of football, was he better than (Paolo) Maldini, (Giuseppe) Bergomi or (Rio) Ferdinand? Ahead of Saturday’s home game against Southampton, Mourinho admitted Romelu Lukaku is running on empty but he could not afford to give his striker a rest. “But for a striker to play 20 matches in the Premier League, 90 minutes, I have to be grateful.”--REUTERS

Source: New Strait Times December 30, 2017 00:33 UTC