Liverpool’s defensive problems are there for all to see and it should only be a matter of time before we do bring in someone, if not in January, at least in the summer transfer window. The pairing of Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip were torn to shreds by Tottenham and it is no surprise that we are looking at a Dutch defender.
While Virgil van Dijk could be moving in the winter window, his price tag is still something we have to deal with. However, another defender from Holland could be available for free at the end of next season.
Stefan de Vrij has been linked with a move away from Serie A side Lazio and the Dutch defender has been speaking out about his contract situation. The 25-year-old is out of a contract at the end of next season and though he has been in negotiations with the club, the defender has not stated that he will be staying at the Eagles.
“I will meet with club’s executives, I want to sign a new deal but I can make no promises”, De Vrij was quoted by Calciomercato after the 3-0 win over Cagliari.
There is going to be a lot of competition for the 25-year-old as the report claims that AC Milan and Juventus are tracking the situation of the Dutch defender.
The report also adds that Juventus want to sign the Dutchman but will not make him their primary signing in the summer. They will also wait for his contract to end before signing him for free.
Milan, on the other hand, don’t want to bring the defender in but could move for him in the summer given how their season pans out.
This does leave the door open for us to sign the talented defender and given that we could aim for a cut-price deal for the 25-year-old in January, Lazio might just be willing to let their player go to a foreign club and that too for a decent sum of money.
The asking price for De Vrij is somewhere close to €30/35m which isn’t a lot given the price we might have to pay for Van Dijk. However, the amount is too high considering that the player’s contract runs out in the summer. Our current scenario can only be solved by a quality defender and De Vrij can be our saviour, we hope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWZhZ4YiRVI
