Manchester City’s current coach Pep Guardiola has been looking to make a number of changes to the line-up to avoid any more goof-ups in the next season. The defence has been a major area of concern for the Spaniard and he is looking to bring in some top-class defenders to revamp it, one of them being the current Southampton centre-back Virgil Van Dijk.
City’s current season has been inconsistent, to say the least. Facing elimination from both the FA Cup and the Champions League, the only option left for Pep Guardiola’s men is to finish in the top four of the English Premier League this season. However, here also they are facing tough competition from their arch rivals Manchester United.
Van Dijk, who is currently missing the Premier League campaign due to an injury concern, is considered as one of the top-class defenders in the domestic league. The Dutchman has been an integral part of the Southampton line-up in the current season and has been one of the major reasons behind Southampton’s good run in the Premier League.
Reportedly, the 24-year-old Dutch youngster has a hefty price tag on him which amounts to £50 million. However, Manchester City are looking to negotiate terms with the South Coast club over the release clause for the player who they brought in last year from Scottish champions Celtic for a price of £13 million.
Abilities to hold onto the ball for a significant amount of time and intercept passes played in between the opponents make Virgil Van Dijk a prized possession for the Saints. The Dutch defender is very good when it comes to aerial duels and his dribbling skills are also well appreciated by his teammates. The defender is very good at clearing out balls from the defensive area, thus keeping the opponent strikers at bay.
Current league leaders Chelsea also have a profound interest in signing the Saints defender for the next season. Antonio Conte, the man in charge at Stamford Bridge has reportedly grown an affinity for the 24-year-old centre back and is looking to make him a part of his line-up as well.
Rival clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool are also in pursuit of the highly rated defender, wishing to land him as a boost to their defensive side next season. Merseyside club Everton is also said to be in the race to sign the currently injured Dutch defender to take him to the Goodison Park.
But Van Dijk is an admirer of Pep Guardiola and wants to play under him next season. Do you think Manchester City can land him this summer?
