With the latest news on Virgil van Dijk’s on-off-maybe-back-on transfer saga suggesting that Southampton have told the player he is not for sale this summer, it looks as though Jurgen Klopp may have to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcements. With £60m burning a hole in his pocket, who is he likely to turn to next? Here are five of the leading candidates:
Stefan de Vrij (Lazio)
A Sky Italia report suggested the Reds had a £17m bid for 25-year-old Stefan de Vrij turned down recently, with Lazio holding out for more like £30m. With only a year left on his contract, such a high fee seems unrealistic, and while not as dominant as international compatriot van Dijk, de Vrij has been highly-rated for a while now.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
The Senegalese giant would make a pretty good consolation prize for missing out on Van Dijk. Physically, the 25-year-old is equally as imposing and with Napoli having resisted Chelsea’s advances last summer, the time may be right for Liverpool to make a move now. Koulibaly has not even reached his peak yet but is already regarded as one of the top defenders in Serie A and will have a price tag to match as Napoli are unlikely to consider any less than £50m for the stopper.
Michael Keane (Burnley)
The ex-Manchester United centre-back would not be the most popular recruit on this list amongst Reds fans, but links with him have persisted. Keane is rumoured to prefer a return to his old club for a fee in the region of £20m, but any news on that front had gone quiet until odds on his return to Old Trafford were suddenly slashed on Wednesday night.
Questions have also been raised over Keane’s suitability to play in a defence with a higher line, such as that Klopp favours, meaning that this may be one player the Anfield faithful aren’t too unhappy at missing out on.
Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough)
Featured for Middlesbrough in the last game of the season where Liverpool clinched fourth place, and despite conceding several goals there, overall Gibson had an excellent first season in the Premier League. Relegated Middlesbrough would be loathe to lose their assured 24-year-old skipper as they attempt to bounce straight back up, but if the Reds come calling with £20m-plus that may prove too good to resist.
Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
Another physically-imposing target, German international Tah has been linked with a move to Anfield for a long while now. At only 21-years-old he is the youngest defender on this list, and with Leverkusen missing out on a Champions League place he may decide his future lies outside the Bundesliga now.
Capped three times so far for his national side, Tah is seen as the future of the German defence, and this summer would be a good time for Liverpool to pounce as his value will skyrocket over the next couple of years.
