As reported by The Daily Mirror, Barcelona are keen on signing Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, leaving Liverpool’s pursuit of him in a precarious position.
What’s the story?
Van Dijk has been one of the stand-out defenders in the English Premier League over the last couple of years, so it’s only natural that a host of top clubs would be tracking his situation at Saints ahead of the January transfer window.
The Mirror report that La Liga giants Barcelona scouted the centre-back when he was on international duty with Netherlands recently and are weighing up whether to make their move for him.
This is a blow to Liverpool’s interest, with the paper also reporting that Southampton would rather sell the £50m-rated man to a team abroad rather than another English Premier League outfit.
An important buy
Since joining Liverpool as manager, Jurgen Klopp has brought real attacking flair to the Anfield side but his ability to build a team that defensively strong is still in doubt.
In the top half of the current league table, only Watford have conceded more goals than the Reds this season, with the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United conceding left than half of the Liverpool total.
That makes Virgil van Dijk an important buy if they can convince his club and the player to make the switch to Merseyside. He has the ability to dominate games when fit and motivated and having that kind of presence in the defensive line could go a long way towards stability.
Can the Reds fend off interest from abroad and finally win the race to sign him?
