Liverpool did not make any moves in the January transfer window, but the Reds have historically been the most active during the winter months.
Indeed, Liverpool made some of the best buys in Premier League history in January.
Liverpool completed several additions in January, including Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Daniel Sturridge, and Philippe Coutinho.
Gakpo has received a lot of praise for his recent performances, Sturridge has been a vital player for years, and Liverpool made a record profit on Coutinho.
However, maybe Liverpool’s two best January purchases were Luis Suarez and Virgil van Dijk.
Van Dijk has proven people wrong since his £75 million move from Southampton in 2019, and Suarez is a Liverpool legend in his own right.
According to Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp and Gary Cahill have been rating some of the top January purchases of all time, and they’ve made an intriguing decision between Van Dijk and Suarez.
Virgil van Dijk a better signing than Luis Suarez
Cahill and Redknapp consider Virgil van Dijk as one of the best January purchases of all time, surpassing Luis Suarez.
Van Dijk and Suarez, of course, were mentioned, as were several other notable figures from Premier League history.
Redknapp ranked Van Dijk as his second-best January signing ever, ahead of Luis Suarez, Bruno Fernandes, and Nemanja Vidic.
Two of Liverpool’s buys are regarded as among the best in the history of the January transfer window, and who knows? Perhaps in the future, Gakpo and Diaz will create such a list as well.
Luis Suarez versus Virgil van Dijk
It’s difficult to determine if Van Dijk or Suarez were superior signings.
On the one hand, Van Dijk was a genuinely transformational signing who propelled Liverpool to unprecedented heights, winning both the Premier League and the Champions League.
| Luis Suarez | Virgil van Dijk | |
| Games | 133 | 301 |
| Trophies | 1 | 6 |
| Signed for | £23m | £75m |
| Sold for | £65m | N/A |
| Signed from | Ajax | Southampton |
Suarez, on the other hand, was less expensive, more effective on a lesser squad, and sold for a large profit.
Van Dijk was also a more apparent addition, having spent years proving himself in the Premier League with Southampton.
Meanwhile, Suarez arrived from Ajax as a gamble, but it paid off handsomely.
The fact that Van Dijk has finally become the club captain and has won every trophy available to him probably does put him top of this list, but make no mistake about it, Suarez is also one of the best January signings of all-time.
