Five realistic alternatives for Virgil van Dijk Liverpool should look at

#1 Aymeric Laporte - Athletic Bilbao

Laporte was named in La Liga's team of the season for 2013/14

It is very surprising that no club has signed Aymeric Laporte despite him being one of the most promising and highly rated defenders in Europe at the moment.

Laporte is the only non-Spanish player in the Bilbao squad and has been a mainstay in their defence for over four seasons. The 23-year-old was linked with the likes of Manchester City and Barcelona previously but no move has materialised so far.

Despite his young age, Laporte has represented Bilbao in 192 games scoring nine goals, and won the Supercopa de Espana with the club in 2015. He was also named on the La Liga Team of the Year for 2013-14 when he was just a teenager.

The Frenchman averaged 1.29 tackles per 90 minutes, 2.07 interceptions per 90 minutes and 3.80 clearances per 90 minutes last season in the league.

The biggest stumbling block for Liverpool if they pursue Laporte is the fee Bilbao will ask as the Basque club never sell their players for cheap.