Could he move to Barcelona instead?
Barcelona are reportedly ready to join the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea in the running to sign Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.
The Netherlands international is known to be one of the top centre-backs in the Premier League at the moment, and looked close to leaving the Saints over the summer.
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Liverpool were one of Van Dijk’s main suitors, but the Daily Mirror now claim they’re in a battle with Barcelona to land one of Jurgen Klopp’s priority targets.
The Catalan giants could have a big advantage over the Reds in this particular transfer battle, as Southampton would understandably prefer to see their star player move abroad than to another English side.
Liverpool have raided Southampton on a number of occasions in the past, with ex-Saints such as Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren all on the books at Anfield.
The Merseyside giants also angered Southampton with their pursuit of Van Dijk over the summer, but with their poor start to this season it’s easy to see why Klopp was so keen to tighten up at the back.
Virgil van Dijk – a man in demand
The Mirror also linked Chelsea with a move for the £50million-rated defender, but none of this potential deals materialised as he remained at the St Mary’s Stadium for the start of this season.
Still, Barcelona seem to be in the hunt now and they’ll have plenty to spend after raking in vast sums from the departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
The Catalan giants already have big names like Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and Samuel Umtiti to choose from in central defence, but Ernesto Valverde may feel he could do with another quality option over the course of what the club will hope is a long season of challenging in three major competitions.