Liverpool could have any slither of hope of signing Virgil van Dijk this summer snatched away from them by Chelsea with the Blues reportedly submitting an offer for the Dutchman.
The manner in which Liverpool’s interest in Virgil van Dijk collapsed is well publicised and even though Mohamed Salah has signed for the Reds, if the Dutch centre-back were to join a rival side it would be a big blow for the Merseyside outfit.
The jury is out on Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren and the verdict is that the Croatian shouldn’t make the cut in Jürgen Klopp’s side next season.
Although the former Southampton man signed a new contract last season, the belief is that a new centre-back will come in this summer with Lovren to drop to the bench as solid cover.
Jöel Matip has been a superb acquisition for Liverpool and it looks as though Klopp wants to pair him up with van Dijk, although, with news from Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio indicating Chelsea are highly interested, Klopp will be hard pressed to land his man.
According to Di Marzio, Chelsea are looking at signing van Dijk with the Blues prepared to pay close to £60 million.
The Italian journalist references Klopp’s interest in van Dijk but admits that Chelsea have him high up on their transfer list.
Antonio Conte is said to be looking for a new centre-half to aid his bid to retain the Premier League title for the 2017/18 season.
Liverpool’s interest in Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is said to be increasing with the Reds reportedly having a bid rejected for him during the week.
Regardless of who Liverpool end up signing at centre back, it is clear that Jürgen Klopp is prepared to smash the club’s transfer budget and is eyeing quality of quantity.
Liverpool’s big-money move for Mohamed Salah is proof that the club is looking to bring in top class players and will pay what it takes to do so.