According to reports, Liverpool FC are still keen and hopeful of the landing of Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk. The Dutch centre-half has been one of Liverpool’s long-term targets and with reports emerging of the player’s willingness to leave St. Mary’s this summer, the Reds are willing to reignite their pursuit.
Jurgen Klopp and company would be too cautious not to make any obvious moves for him now, following the situation they had to deal with last time. Southampton had complained concerning their illegal approaches for Van Dijk, and the Reds even had to issue a public apology for it. Hence, even if Anfield remains a preferred decision for Van Dijk, Liverpool are unlikely to push for it.
New manager Mauricio Pellegrino had a huge task on his hands the moment he took charge of the south coast club. And the Argentine has visibly failed in convincing the side’s best player to stay with the club. And the manager didn’t waste time in publicly revealing the situation.
Interestingly, Anfield is just assumed as his next destination and nothing has been concrete so far. After a lot of wait, Liverpool have finally brought in a left back this summer in Andrew Robertson. Despite facing flak last season owing to their error prone defence, The Reds’ first two signings were forwards.
Now with the arrival of Andrew Robertson from Hull City, Klopp just needs a quality reinforcement in his central defence. The German boss has used the likes of Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren alongside Joel Matip so far, on their tour of Asia where they played Crystal Palace and Leicester City. And they could keep only one clean sheet in the two games.
Liverpool start their season away at Watford on 12th August. And following yet another midseason collapse last term, Klopp would want to gather as many points as possible before injuries and suspensions creep in. And the attack has been the least of his worries so far.
In the likes of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke, Daniel Sturridge and Sadio Mane, Klopp has one of the best-attacking fronts in Europe. It is rather their defensive personnel that has been the cause of worry. While Joe Gomez is only 20 and still to improve a lot, the likes of Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren have shown tremendous inconsistency.
Van Dijk is seen by many as the ideal answer to their problem. The 193cm centre-half is extremely strong in the aerial duels and reads the game like none other. Alongside Matip, he could make Liverpool a serious title contender.
