According to reports in The Mirror, Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino has hinted that Liverpool target Virgil van Dijk could be sold during the January transfer window as “everybody has a price”.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Mirror says that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has been given the green light to make an offer for the £70m-rated Netherlands international, with Pellegrino unable to guarantee that the 26-year-old would be at St Mary’s at the end of January.
The Merseyside outfit were forced to issue a public apology after being accused of tapping the centre-back up earlier in the summer, but The Mirror says that Klopp still believes the Dutchman is the man to strengthen his team’s defence.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saints’ trip to Anfield on Saturday, Pellegrino explained the latest situation when questioned about Van Dijk.
What did he say?
According to The Mirror, the 43-year-old said: “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.”
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How has Van Dijk done this term?
Having initially been banished to train with the U23s after handing in a transfer request just days before the start of the Premier League season, the 26-year-old was forced to wait until the end of September to make his first appearance of the campaign as a substitute against Crystal Palace.
The fact that he had spent eight months on the sidelines with injury certainly showed in his first couple of appearances, but he is starting to get back to the player that has attracted so much interest from the top clubs in England.
He has started five consecutive top flight games for Saints, and he is likely to start again his potential future employers on Saturday.
Will Saints sell him in January?
It probably depends on what sort of impact he is having behind the scenes.
If the Dutchman is causing problems and bringing down the morale of the team then he could go, but if he is working hard they could keep him until the summer.
That said, every player does have his price and if Southampton received an offer of £70m, they would undoubtedly have to do that deal.