Manchester City are in the hunt for a new defender and as per reports, Pep Guardiola has set his sights on Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk.
Van Dijk has been a long-term transfer target for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and the Reds tried to sign him a couple of times during the summer transfer window. Initially, the deal could not go through as Liverpool had to back out after the Saints accused them of tapping up the defender. The Reds did return though during the final few days of the window but in the end, Virgil Van Dijk stayed back at Southampton.
But Liverpool are expected to make a renewed bid for the 26-year-old during the January transfer window as Klopp is desperate to add a world class defender to his ranks.
Now as per Goal, Manchester City have also shown a keen interest in signing up Virgil Van Dijk during the new year. Pep Guardiola has announced publicly that he is in search of a new centre-back after Vicent Kompany’s recent injury and ageing issues and the Southampton defender seems to be at the top of his wish list.
The Premier League leaders are also said to be looking into the likes of Jonny Evans and Inigo Martinez are possible signings but Virgil Van Dijk seems to top the list.
In such a scenario, Liverpool are set to face some stiff competition from the Manchester giants but the only thing that might work in the Reds favour is the fact that if Van Dijk was to join the Merseyside outfit then he is more or less guaranteed a first-team spot. But at City, things could be a bit more complicates. Guardiola already has a pretty big pool of central defenders amongst his ranks and Van Dijk will have to prove his worth before he can become an automatic choice for the Spanish manager.
