Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly eyeing a £50million swoop for Southampton’s star defender, Virgil van Dijk.
Van Dijk, since his move to St. Mary's from Celtic, has impressed one and all with his defensive abilities, putting in some great performances for the English side this season.
Guardiola has flushed in quite a lot of money to fix Manchester City's defence but has failed to do so as his side have kept just three clean sheets in seventeen games so far this season. City's £50million summer signing, John Stones, has failed to live up to expectations so far and Pep sees Van Dijk as the perfect choice to fix their leaky defence.
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According to reports, talks have taken place in the past two weeks between the City and Saints officials over a possible move for the Dutchman. City's director of football Txiki Begiristain has been thought to be working on the deal to bring the Dutchman in but has failed to make headway thus far.
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Although the Saints will try to keep their star defender at the club especially since they are fighting for European spots, a bid of £50million could prove to be too much for them to refuse. Van Dijk is also aware of the fact that Manchester City are interested in him and it'll be a tough choice to reject a club of City's stature and the lure of Champions League football.
Manchester City were dealt a blow in their pursuit of Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci as he signed a new deal with the Italian Champions which will keep him in Turin till 2021. The Citizens also had their eyes on Aymeric Laporte in the summer as a long-term replacement for their captain, Vincent Kompany, who has been out injured for most of the season.
Since his summer arrival in Manchester, Pep Guardiola has spent around £140 million bringing in the likes of John Stones, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito, Claudio Bravo, and Gabriel Jesus, who will join the English side in January, and won't hesitate to spend more money on getting the players of his choice.
There could be a lot of transfer activity happening at the Etihad in January as Pep prepares his side for a title push.
