Liverpool resurrect their interest in Virgil van Dijk

Having been warned off Virgil van Dijk earlier this summer, Liverpool are ready to launch a fresh bid for the Southampton defender, and The Sun reports Reds are prepared to pay £60m for the 25-year-old centre-half.

Van Dijk has reportedly said Liverpool are the only club he will move to and is prepared to put in a transfer request to make sure the deal is done.

It is an interesting development because Saints reported Liverpool for an illegal approach before the transfer window officially opened. The Anfield club were forced into a humiliating apology and said their interest in the player was over, but no further action was taken by the Premier League.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

It now seems that circumstances have changed and Southampton have a new manager in Mauricio Pellegrino, who insists he will not stand in van Dijk’s way.

The classy Dutch star was injured for the second half of last season and at one stage Chelsea looked to have overtaken Liverpool in the race to sign him.

However, the Daily Express says Liverpool could face competition from Arsenal for van Dijk’s signature.

Manager Arsene Wenger is pondering a £45m move, considerably below Liverpool’s valuation.

Liverpool have so far signed Mohamed Salah and Dominic Solanke and are closing in on Hull left-back Andy Robertson.

There are likely to be a number of outgoings from Liverpool in the coming days. Lazar Markovic is wanted by Watford, Zenit St Petersburg and several French clubs, while Sheyi Ojo could end up joining Newcastle on a permanent deal after they initially had a loan offer rebuffed.