Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino has given Liverpool encouragement to make a move for Saints centre-back Virgil van Dijk in January, by refusing to confirm that the Dutchman will still be at St Mary’s following the conclusion of the January transfer window.
This comes according to Daily Mirror, who carry quotes from the Saints boss, regarding the Netherlands man’s future at the club:
I don’t know. I can’t control the market.
You never know, because when we talk about money everybody has got a price.
The budget is to sign players and the biggest teams have got money to try to sign players.
That second statement, that every player has a price, will be of big encouragement to Liverpool, who were very public in their attempts to sign Van Dijk during the summer transfer window.
The Dutch international defender joined Southampton from Celtic in 2015, and has since made 69 appearances for the Saints.
He has established himself as one of the Premier League’s finest defenders, and would certainly improve the Reds’ back line.
Liverpool have conceded 17 goals in 11 games, the most of any club in the top eight of the league — with leaders Manchester City having conceded just seven times, and second-placed Manchester United only have let in five goals.
