Premier League giants Liverpool are planning to shell out £40 million for Southampton defenders Sam McQueen and Virgil van Dijk.

 

According to the Sun, Liverpool are preparing to raid Southampton once again with a £40 million bid for two of their defenders. Reds manager Jurgen Klopp sees Virgil van Dijk as the ideal option to add flair to his relatively weak defence, while Sam McQueen could be the means to end Liverpool’s ongoing dilemmas at left-back.

Van Dijk has made a flying start to the season and has once again proven why he is key to the Saints’ success in the Premier League. The Dutchman is a physical presence and has a lethal impact in both boxes. He is immaculate in the air, decent at winning back possession and is excellent with the ball at his feet.

Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip have been Liverpool’s first-choice centre-backs this season, but have struggled to a certain extent to provide adequate protection for Loris Karius in goal. With only two clean sheets this season, Klopp will undoubtedly look to bolster his back-line and Van Dijk may just be the man to do that.

The 25-year-old has already developed into one of the league’s finest centre-backs since his move from Celtic, and is also a reported target for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

Southampton's English midfielder Sam McQueen (L) vies with Burnley's Australian midfielder Aiden O'Neill during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Burnley at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, southern England on October 16, 2016. / AFP / GLYN KIRK / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)
Southampton’s English defender Sam McQueen (L) vies with Burnley’s Australian midfielder Aiden O’Neill during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Burnley at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, southern England on October 16, 2016. (Photo Courtesy: GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Sam McQueen, teammate of van Dijk, has also emerged as a transfer target for the Reds. Unlike the Dutchman, McQueen is yet to establish himself as one of the league’s best and is not currently Claude Puel’s first-choice option at St Mary’s.

However, the 21-year-old did an excellent job in deputising for Ryan Bertrand in Southampton’s win against Burnley and the 1-1 draw against Manchester City. Despite still being quite raw, McQueen has shown plenty of promise and it is unsurprising that he is the subject of Liverpool attention.

Klopp has used James Milner as a makeshift left-back ahead of the under-performing Alberto Moreno. While the former Manchester City midfielder has performed beyond expectations, he has, on occasion, been caught out of position and has also been beaten for pace by the younger and more agile wingers the Premier League has to be offer.

As such, signing McQueen in January may prove to be a fruitful decision for Klopp; he will have until the end of the season to judge his progress and decide whether or not he is ready to step up to the first team at Anfield.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Recommended

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.