EPL Top 6 clubs and the players they should sign in January

#5 Liverpool: Virgil Van Dijk (Southampton)

Will the Dutchman finally have his say?

Jurgen Klopp is a very likeable manager, no doubt. The German’s charismatic nature is ably complemented by the attacking style of football that he likes to present.

Heavy metal football, high pressing, recovering the ball, fast counter attacks... there is so much to love about the attacking dynamism of Liverpool when they are in full song.

Liverpool have completely transformed their attacking ideology under the former Borussia Dortmund boss. The signing of Mo Salah has reaped rich benefits too.

The Egyptian has proven his doubters wrong by being the highest goal-scorer in the League this season.

However, nothing comes without a fair bit of chink, does it?

As much as Liverpool relies on their attacking flair, at the same time, Klopp has had to compromise with his defensive shape too.

The manager’s failure to land a good central defender has hurt Liverpool many a time this season. The club’s current top choice centre-backs are Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan, and Dejan Lovren.

Woof! Try winning the league in a decade with that partnership at the back.

Lovren has been downright ridiculous many times in the past few months. He looks overawed with the pressure and commits fouls, which let us say; only Lovren can commit. He was humiliated by the brilliance of Harry Kane at Wembley.

Then in the Merseyside derby, he made a silly foul on Dominic Calvert Lewin to hand Everton a penalty. Ragnar Klavan has been shaky and inconsistent too.

It has been said that Matip would need the support of another centre back to bring out the best of his game too.

So, Liverpool’s pursuit of Virgil Van Djik needs to go up a notch now. The Dutch centre-back has been sporadically used this season. However, his quality at the back remains unmatched in the League.

Van Dijk has great positional awareness and is a delight in the air too. He has a strong stature and can bully the forwards with his intelligence inside the box.

Southampton was adamant about keeping hold of him in the summer. However, Liverpool’s increased insistence might force them to change their stance.

Liverpool will have to dig their pockets deep to bring Van Djik to Anfield. However, he could be worth every single penny.