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Why Southampton Should Quickly Move On From Their £70m Conundrum And Sign Replacements

Virgil Van Dijk
Virgil Van Dijk

Why Southampton Should Quickly Sell Van Dijk Off And Replace Him

Southampton are currently in possession of the most sought after defender in all of Europe in the form of Virgil Van Dijk, and face a task of making a decision on whether to let the 25-year-old stay at or leave the St.Mary’s this summer. But the Saints aren’t willing to let go of the player for cheap as they have reportedly put a price tag of £70million for the Netherlands international.

Some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League including Liverpool and Chelsea are said to be have made him their priority target for the summer and are also willing to break their transfer records to acquire the player. Liverpool FC, in particular, are desperate to bring the player to Anfield as they look to strengthen their defence. But the Merseyside club had stepped out of lines to convince the Dutchman to join the club after Southampton reported the Reds to the Premier League about their attempts at “tapping up” Virgil Van Dijk.

Liverpool had no choice but drop their interest in the player after the allegations and also made a public statement regarding the same.

The Merseyside club’s statement read:

“Liverpool Football Club would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton Football Club and player transfers between the two clubs. We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk. We respect Southampton‘s position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player.”

Despite Liverpool officially dropping their interest in Van Dijk, Southampton will now have to convince the Dutchman to stay at the club, which looks unlikely as Van Dijk has reportedly made up his mind to go to Anfield. All that the Saints can do now is settle their differences with Liverpool who are reportedly willing to pay the £70million for the Dutch centre-back and turn their attention to bringing quality players this summer.

With the club appointing Mauricio Pellegrino as the head coach, the board’s focus should now be on recruiting new players for the upcoming season instead of wasting time on convincing a player who has already made up his mind regarding his future.

The best case scenario for Southampton’s profit would be to get Liverpool and Chelsea to start a bidding war the Dutchman and drive the price as high as possible. But the quoted £70million might be way too much for either clubs.