Liverpool face competition from Barcelona for top 26-year-old defender – report

Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk Photo: Virgil van Dijk / Twitter

Liverpool are set to face competition from La Liga giants Barcelona for Virgil van Dijk in January, according to reports.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that Barcelona are set to irritate Liverpool with a move to sign the 26-year-old defender from Southampton.

The same article states that the La Liga giants are ready to rival Liverpool for the Dutch centre-half following the disappointment of missing out on Philippe Coutinho in the summer.

According to the same story, Southampton would rather sell Van Dijk to Barcelona than Liverpool to ensure the former Celtic defender won’t come up against the Saints in the Premier League.

Liverpool were heavily linked with a move to sign Van Dijk in the summer transfer window but couldn’t get a deal over the line even though the stylish centre-half handed in a transfer request.

The Reds were forced to issue an apology to the Saints about their pursuit of the Netherlands defender as Jurgen Klopp missed out on one of his top summer targets.

Barcelona endured a frustrating summer, too, after Liverpool refused to sell Brazil international Philippe Coutinho to the Camp Nou outfit.

The Liverpool number 10 has since scored three goals in his last four appearances in the Reds team.

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