Arsenal
Arsenal Ready To Battle Liverpool Over Signing Of £70m International Star
Arsenal are ready to join Liverpool in the race to sign Virgil van Dijk with the £70m-rated centre-back being tipped to leave Southampton this winter
The January transfer window is just around the corner meaning clubs are working hard on potential deals so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, the latest on Virgil van Dijk…
Arsenal are ready to join Liverpool in the race to sign Virgil van Dijk with the £70m-rated centre-back tipped to leave Southampton this winter, according to a report in the Mirror.
Van Dijk has developed in to one of the best central defenders in Europe since joining Southampton from Scottish champions Celtic in 2015 and he attracted plenty of interest last summer.
Liverpool emerged as the early front-runners to sign the defender and a deal looked to be on the cards after Van Dijk was exiled from from Southampton squad during pre-season having made it clear he wanted a move to Anfield.
Van Dijk even submitted a formal transfer request to try and push through the move but the Saints refused to sell and reported Liverpool to the Premier League for an alleged illegal approach.
Speculation has resurfaced in recent weeks that Liverpool will renew their interest in the 26-year-old this winter with the Mirror claiming that Manchester City could also challenge the Reds for the centre-back.
Jurgen Klopp desperately needs a commanding central defender to help tighten-up his free-scoring side and Van Dijk would be an excellent addition to the Anfield squad.
However, Liverpool could now face fresh competition as the newspaper is citing a report from The Times that claims Arsenal are now ready to join the race to sign the Dutch international in January.
Arsene Wenger’s side have conceded 20 goals in their 17 league games so far, which is the same number as Liverpool but almost double the figure conceded by leaders Man City, so the north Londoners need to strengthen at the back if they’re to be genuine title contenders.
With Per Mertesacker retiring at the end of the season and Laurent Koscielny hampered by an on-going Achilles problem, Wenger needs to find a new centre-back and Van Dijk would be an excellent signing.
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However, the Mirror’s report says it will take a world record fee for a defender of around £70m to persuade Southampton to sell so Arsenal, Liverpool and City will have to dig deep if they want to sign the Dutchman.
