LIVERPOOL are ready to smash their transfer record to sign Virgil van Dijk this summer.
And the Reds, who have to tread carefully after being forced to apologise for their pursuit earlier in the window, have been boosted in their pursuit after Van Dijk was left OUT of pre-season. Jurgen Klopp sees the £60million-rated Dutchman as the perfect fit and is ready to make a bid, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Southampton are adamant Van Dijk, 26, is not for sale after seeing Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Sadio Mane move to Anfield.
The centre-back is effectively on strike after Mauricio Pellegrino claimed he was not mentally prepared to join his teammates and made him train alone.
He was not selected in the 25-man group set to head for a pre-season training camp in France.
And Southampton could be forced to change their stance and consider bids instead of keeping an unhappy player at the club.
Liverpool would have to top Benjamin Mendy’s Manchester City fee – making the Saints centre-back the world’s most expensive defender. But Klopp is prepared to spend big for the right targets having secured Champions League football for next season.
RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita is another top priority but the move has hit the rocks.
The Bundesliga outfit are playing hardball over one of their brightest talents and rejected a huge £66m offer last week.
From The Sun
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