Virgil van Dijk is certainly having a wonderful season for Southampton and it isn’t a surprise to see the Dutch defender being linked with a move away from the Saints. The former Celtic defender has been one of the most consistent players for Southampton under first Ronald Koeman and now Claude Puel.
The 25-year-old is set to be in a tug of war between the Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool but former Newcastle striker Micky Quinn has stated that it will be Liverpool who are going to win the battle for the talented defender.
Quinn was speaking to Talksport as to how club insiders have told him that Van Dijk is surely going to the Reds rather than the Toffees.
“No, don’t worry about [Ronald] Koeman.
“Liverpool will blow them [Everton] out of the water. That’s what I’ve been told, anyway.”
This might come as a bitter blow to Koeman, after all, he did coach Van Dijk during his stint with Southampton and he would have been looking to use his Dutch links to link up with the former Celtic defender.
Liverpool fans would be extremely pleased with the comments made by Quinn. There might be trepidation regarding the signing of another Southampton player but Van Dijk is class and certainly would provide a lot of cover and competition for the Liverpool centre-backs.
A replacement for Mamadou Sakho at last
Van Dijk would certainly make life difficult for Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip should he join the Reds in the winter window. Liverpool do not really have a lot of cover for the side when it comes to the centre backs with only Ragnar Klavan as the recognised player for that position.
Lucas Leiva, a defensive midfielder, has often slotted in the heart of the defence and the Brazilian was playing in the same position against Leeds United in the EFL Cup win last night.
The one player who could have actually played at the back and provided some cover for Lovren and Matip would have been Mamadou Sakho but the French defender is more or less expected to leave the Premier League side as Jurgen Klopp seems him to be surplus to requirements.
There have been other rumours also suggesting that the Reds are willing to bid up to £50 million for Van Dijk but that price does seem to be a little crazy. They could use Sakho in a cut-price deal if he wants to remain in England but either way, if the Reds do sign Van Dijk up, it would be a great addition to the side and certainly provide their defence quality for a number of years.
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