Liverpool ramp up Virgil van Dijk transfer: Southampton begin negotiations for replacement

LIVERPOOL have reportedly ramped up their efforts to sign Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.


PUBLISHED: 19:03, Mon, Jul 31, 2017 | UPDATED: 19:59, Mon, Jul 31, 2017

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Virgil van Dijk for weeks but a deal is yet to materialise.

Saints had accused the Anfield club of tapping up the Dutchman which seemed to have stalled the move.

However, The Daily Mail claim the transfer is still very much on the


cards and the Reds have upped their efforts to sign the 26-year-old.

And the report says Southampton are preparing for Van Dijk's imminent departure by beginning negotiations with Lazio for Wesley Hoedt.


Mauricio Pellegrino's side are said to be weighing up a £12million move for the 23-year-old centre-half.


Van Dijk, meanwhile, has been working alone at Southampton's Staplewood training base after telling the club he wants to leave.


The Holland international remained in the UK while the rest of the Saints squad flew to France for a pre-season trip.


Speaking last week about the Van Dijk saga, Liverpool legend John Aldridge claimed he expected the deal to go through

"Southampton know Van Dijk is unhappy, Liverpool want him so it seems Van Dijk will move," he told the Independent.


"Jurgen Klopp knows what he wants and he wants quality, there's no point in signing peripheral players just for appearances.


"You need to sign players who have that x-factor and Van Dijk has that. He's one of the best centre halves in the Premier League."


Van Dijk is under contract at St Mary's until June 2022 and made 30 appearances last term in all competitions, scoring four goals

              You can subscribe to get full news from this blog

                   never forget  to like and share the news 

this is all about Anfield focus follow up on  our facebook page on www.facebook.com/Anfieldlatest