Long-term Liverpool transfer target Virgil van Dijk is on the verge of signing for Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The Telegraph is reporting Van Dijk will move to Manchester City for a £60 million transfer fee. Although Chelsea, Liverpool and Barcelona are still pursuing the centre-back, the newspaper believes Manchester City will beat out the competition for Van Dijk.
The defender had looked likely to sign for Liverpool last summer. However, the deal never came to fruition and Southampton reported Liverpool to the English FA over tapping-up the player.
However, on Sunday, Buzz.ie reported that Liverpool had agreed a deal for Van Dijk in the £70m range. However, it appears Manchester City will sign the Dutch defender after failing to land other defensive targets.
Pep Guardiola had attempted to sign Jonny Evans from West Brom during the summer transfer window, but was re-buffed by the Baggies. The team have already signed American youngster Erik Palmer-Brown on a free transfer, but the 20-year-old is nowhere near making his first team debut for Manchester City. Palmer-Brown is expected to be loaned to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven to gain first team experience in January.
Van Dijk another Man City £60m defender
Although Guardiola spent heavily in the summer on Manchester City’s defence, the team are actively looking for a replacement for the often-injured Vincent Kompany. John Stones has also experienced injuries of late, causing headaches for Guardiola despite leading the Premier League by 13 points over Manchester United.
According to reports, Van Dijk would be introduced to Manchester City as the team’s third choice centre-back. However, there is a good chance he could unseat fellow defenders Stones or Nicolas Otamendi.
Guardiola still believes Evans could be a top defender, if the team cannot land Van Dijk. In addition, Guardiola is also looking at Real Sociedad defender Inigo Martinez.
Fantasy impact
Otamendi is doing very well this season in Fantasy Premier League. The big defender has tallied 94 points, which is third most of any defender in the Premier League. The addition of Van Dijk could only help Otamendi’s plight to be the best FPL defender in the league. Therefore, managers should be happy with the Dutchman’s addition.
Van Dijk FPL season hasn’t been great, and the defender has tallied only 25 points this term. If he is third choice to Otamendi and Stones, Van Dijk will be a player most – if not all – managers will want out of their squads. He isn’t cheap for a player that has only tallied 25 points. At £5.4, Van Dijk isn’t worth his spot in a fantasy XI.
If he arrives at City and is in the team every game, or nearly every game, he could be a good defender to transfer-in. Otherwise, Van Dijk should be overlooked.
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