After a failed attempt to secure the services of Saints’ defender Virgil Van Dijk over the summer, Liverpool are set to renew their interest in January. The Mirror reports that Kop boss, Jurgen Klopp has been given the green light to make a new bid for the Southampton defender when the transfer window opens in January.
The Merseyside club were forced to apologise over their failed pursuit of the Saints’ £70million-rated star last summer when they were deemed to have made an illegal approach while trying to sign the player. But Liverpool’s German manager remains adamant that a deal can take place and is now set to submit a new offer in January.
On Thursday, the Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino confessed that he could not promise whether Virgil Van Dijk will still be at the club when the transfer window closes. When asked during a pre-match press conference about the future of Virgil Van Dijk, the 46-year-old Saints boss said,
“I don’t know. I can’t control the market. You never know, because when we talk about money everybody has got a price.”
“The budget is to sign players and the biggest teams have got money to try to sign players.”
However, when the same question was asked to the Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp gave little away and said,
“You really expect an answer? What happened in the summer?”
The Dutch handed in a transfer request last summer but was banished from the first team. Since then, he has struggled to find form and has contributed towards Southampton’s poor start to the campaign.
The former Celtic defender was highly impressive when he first graced the Premier League for Southampton. He was one of the key reasons why the Saints finished 8th in the Premier League standings last season.
The Dutchman has the knack of scoring goals and is highly composed on the ball. And his defensive attributes and leadership abilities are the reason why Jurgen Klopp had made him his number one target over the summer.
The Reds believe he can be a perfect fit to address their recent defensive struggles as they try to push for the top 4.
Virgil Van Dijk has made 75 first team appearances for Southampton and has scored 7 goals in the process.
Maybe a January transfer is best for both clubs as Southampton can use the money to make their squad stronger while Liverpool can finally put an end to their long-term pursuit of Virgil Van Dijk and get their man, who is likely to improve their defence considerably as they go in pursuit of silverware this season.
