Of all the embarrassing times that the Liverpool fans have had to go through on and off the field in the last few years, the humiliation of the apology the club had to make for their interest in Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, will not be forgotten anytime soon. Though some believe he may yet make his way to Anfield next summer, the Liverpool hierarchy have already started looking for replacements.
But that has not gone well either as reports today from Sky Sports suggest that Italian outfit Lazio have rejected a €20m bid from Liverpool for their exciting defender Stefan de Vrij.
A product of the Feyenoord academy in Netherlands, the 25-year old moved to Lazio in 2014 after a super time in the senior side at the club. He established himself as the first choice at the club in his first season in the Serie A but constant injuries and loss of form saw him move down the pecking order late last season.
Having made just 27 appearances all season for Lazio, De Vrij has 58 appearances in the Italian domestic league in three seasons in the country and is known for his defensive solidity and concentration at the back.
He is one of the most disciplined centre-backs in Europe and is strong with his tackling and ability to read the game that allows him to stay a step ahead of the opponents. He is strong and dominant in the air and loves to hassle the opposition strikers into submission and is a player that would definitely improve the Liverpool squad.
At 25, he will also get better with more game time but many Liverpool fans seem to be distraught with his injury history and want the club to avoid signing him. It makes perfect sense for the Anfield outfit to as they only have Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan, neither of who are expected to be first choice next season.
Having also 30-international appearances for the senior Dutch side, he is an experienced, established centre-back, a player badly needed at Liverpool. The fact that the 25-year old has missed 69 games since the start of the year 2015 is the only thing stopping Liverpool from going all out for De Vrij.
He has missed 13 league games in the 2016-17 Serie A campaign and Liverpool just cannot afford to spend on a player they cannot rely on for the entire season when they need someone who can help them in four different competitions.
At his price, he is a decent option but Liverpool should only look at him as the last resort, or at least one of the last, especially after they have shown so much intent to sign his Dutch counterpart Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.
