As the pendulum has started to swing in Liverpool’s favour, Southampton have started to chalk up their contingency plan to replace their star defender Virgil Van Dijk. The Dutch defender is set to have crunch talks with the club regarding his future and he is expected to hand the club a transfer request in an attempt to fasten his departure.
The Dutch centre-back has long been linked with Liverpool but the Saints accused the Reds of illegally tapping up the player and since then Jurgen Klopp’s side have maintained a safe distance from the player.
Southampton aren’t taking a chance though and in a bid to replace him, they are eyeing Lazio centre back Wesley Hoedt. He hasn’t been a regular for the Serie-A side as he started in 21 games last season. Southampton had an initial round of talks with the club regarding his transfer and they have been told to cough up a sum of £16m for the player.
Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida have been the preferred choice in the backline in the pre-season games for newly appointed Simon Grayson although he also has summer signing Jan Bednarek in the case of any emergency.
Hoedt is a product of the Dutch club AZ Alkmaar and had been with the club before making a move to Lazio but he hasn’t been utilized much since his arrival in Italy and he has been striving for some regular game time.
Pellegrino is ready to sanction a move for the defender and would like to unleash him straight into the starting lineup. Van Dijk’ future is expected to be sorted within the coming weeks and his move is likely to be confirmed. He has been training alone at Southampton’s Staplewood training ground as speculation gets even more intensified.
Leicester City and Everton have also enquired about the player’s availability. Both the clubs are in the dire need of a defender especially the former. The Foxes acquired Harry Maguire from Hull City but Craig Shakespeare has voiced his urgency for a suitable partner for him.
Hoedt is very reliable and his game reading sense is very commendable. Standing at six feet four, the Dutch youngster would also provide an aerial advantage which is quite necessary for the Premier League these days.
The Saints haven’t been very active in the transfer market and if the 23-year-old does arrive at the St Mary’s, he would be the second signing of this summer.
