Manchester City plot £100m package for Liverpool target

Manchester City are ready to blow rivals Liverpool out of the water for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, reports The Times.

Van Dijk is widely expected to leave Southampton this summer and has already been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, Liverpool and City after establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League in the last two years.

Reports emerged suggesting the Netherlands international was attracted by the proposition of playing at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp but City are ready to match Southampton’s £50m valuation and offer Van Dijk a staggering £180,000-a-week over a five-year contract.

Liverpool are unlikely to be able to match the salary City can offer due to their tight wage structure and must now hope the allure of playing under Klopp will be enough to convince the towering centre-back to sacrifice higher earning power at the Etihad.

However, it is just a further sign of how ruthless City are being in the transfer market after already signing Monaco ace Bernardo Silva, with teammate Benjamin Mendy and Benfica goalkeeper Ederson expected to follow.

Despite missing the last five months of the season with ankle ligament damage, only seven players have won the WhoScored Man of the Match award more times in the last two Premier League campaigns than Van Dijk (10).

For more stats on Virgil van Dijk, click here to visit his WhoScored player page