John Arne Riise, a Betsson ambassador, told timesofmalta.com that he deems the signing of Virgil van Dijk as a very important signing for Liverpool, especially after the positive results which the Reds chalked up since his arrival. 

"(Virgil) van Dijk is a big signing for Liverpool as we really needed a solid central defender to complete the defensive line," the former Reds defender said after attending a training session with Valletta FC at the Centenary Stadium, on Tuesday. 

Throughout his career, the Norwegian defender featured also for Italian club Roma, with whom he had a positive spell between 2008 and 2011.

"Roma may currently be distant from the top teams in Italy, but they are big club and have what it takes to become bigger," Riise underlined.

Meanwhile, the former Norway international, for whom he collected 110 caps, expressed his emotions for having a statue of himself by Alesunds AFK, with whom he started the career back in 1996 before heading to Monaco. 

This interview was arranged by Betsson, who John Arne Riise is an ambassador of together with other celebrities.