Liverpool, Chelsea & Arsenal Told They Can Sign Dutch International For £70m

Managers are now pressing ahead with their plans for the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, Southampton want £70m for in-demand defender Virgil van Dijk….

Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal will have to pay a whopping £70m if they want to sign in-demand Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk this summer, according to the Mirror.

van Dijk has become one of the most sought-after players of the summer transfer window after developing in to arguably the best centre-back in the Premier League since joining Southampton from Celtic in 2015.

The 25-year-old’s impressive displays at the back have attracted interest from a whole host of top English clubs with the Mirror reporting that Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all expressed their interest in signing the defender.

Liverpool are in need of a dominant central defender if they are to become genuine title challengers next season and Jurgen Klopp has seemingly made van Dijk his top target to partner Joel Matip at the back.

Arsenal are also in the market for defensive reinforcements after their leaky defence undermined their title hopes once again last season and the Mirror reported earlier this week that the Gunners had joined Liverpool in offering van Dijk a lucrative contract.

However, the same newspaper also recently reported that Chelsea believed they were the front-runners to sign van Dijk this summer as Antonio Conte looks to bring in a replacement for departing skipper John Terry.

The newspapers have been touting £50m as a likely asking price but it looks as though Southampton have other ideas as the Mirror claim today that the South Coast club have told potential suitors it will take £70m to persuade them to cash-in.

Southampton are seemingly determined to shake off the tag of a selling club and as van Dijk is yet to demand a move, the Saints are ready to play hardball over their star man this summer.

So it looks as though the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal know what price they’ll have to pay if they want to sign van Dijk and it’s up to them to decide whether they want to meet Southampton’s demands.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Chelsea transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

Obviously £70m is a huge figure for a defender but van Dijk would be a superb addition to any squad so it’s going to be interesting to see how this battle plays out over the coming weeks.