Liverpool could be triggered into a fresh pursuit of Virgil van Dijk sooner rather than later with Chelsea emerging as serious rivals in the race to sign the Dutchman.
Despite an initial setback, the Reds are still seeking to secure a deal for the in-demand defender, according to the Daily Mail.
The club had previously been in pole position to capture the services of the defender with the player having seemingly rebuffed approaches from Manchester City and Chelsea and instead opted for a move to Liverpool.
Apparent meetings between Jurgen Klopp and Van Dijk himself before any official bid led to Southampton making a complaint against Liverpool’s approach, leading to the club issuing an apology and ending interest in the player.
If there has been any renewed attempt to lure the centre-back to Anfield, it has been kept well under the radar with the Reds taking a far more cautious approach in aid of preventing another embarrassing mishap.
While Southampton remain adamant their star man is not for sale this summer, the likelihood is that Van Dijk still has his heart set on a move to Merseyside, thereby suggesting Chelsea’s supposedly imminent £60million bid could spark Liverpool to get involved.
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Van Dijk’s name undoubtedly sits towards the top of Klopp’s wishlist with the German manager reportedly prepared to part with £70million in exchange for a man he deems capable of bolstering his defence and taking the team closer to mounting a title challenge.
It promises to be one of the transfer window’s long-running sagas with little having been said of late with regards to what happens next for a player intent on leaving St Mary’s.
After completing a £36.9million deal for Mohamed Salah on Thursday, Liverpool are believed to be keen on continuing their highly-anticipated spending spree with offers for Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and RB Leipzig’s £50million-rated Naby Keita.