Liverpool ‘boost financial package’ to give Van Dijk a headache

Virgil van Dijk’s proposed move to Manchester City looks far from certain amid reports Liverpool are prepared to stump up the funds required to lure the Dutchman to Anfield.

The Reds are among three clubs, alongside City and Chelsea, who have targeted a summer swoop for the towering Southampton defender, with a fee of around £50million being mooted.

But on Sunday it was claimed that while Van Dijk was ‘impressed by Liverpool’, the player was prepared to accept a move to Manchester City after they trumped the Reds with a £200,000 a week package to the Dutchman.

According to the Liverpool Echo, however, such talk is ‘premature’, and Jurgen Klopp’s side are still in with a chance of landing the 25-year-old.

The paper, however, does have a cautious outlook: They claim a U-turn is by no means certain and that the Reds still face ‘a real battle to convince the defender’ to move to Anfield.

But it offers a glimmer of hope for Liverpool, who were previously thought to be unable to match Manchester City in the financial stakes.

Van Dijk could of course not move to the north-west at all, with Premier League champions Chelsea also establishing themselves as contenders for his signature.

Liverpool ‘still believe money will not be the decisive factor’, and it is merely stated that they have offered the defender ‘a similar financial package’, not necessarily that they have offered the same £200,000 a week as City.

The decision is now down to Van Dijk, who has three strong offers on the table.