The priorities now are Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk (£70m) and Monaco forward.Thomas Lemar (£75m), though two bids for Lemar have been rejected. Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£35m) remains an alternative.
Should those prized targets be landed, it would take their outlay for this window towards £250m.
Having thrashed Arsenal 4-0 to show their potential for the season ahead, Liverpool are now determined to make a statement in the transfer market and were they to land Van Dijk and Lemar it would turn them into genuine title challengers.
The task of having both those players on board by Thursday is complicated. Southampton have made it clear publicly and privately that they will not consider selling Van Dijk, who has been training alone since he handed in a transfer request three weeks ago.
Liverpool withdrew their interest in signing Van Dijk earlier this summer after Southampton asked the Premier League to consider allegations of an illegal approach, but, crucially, Van Dijk’s desire to move to Anfield — and Klopp’s wish to see him in the heart of his defence — has never changed.Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino said at Huddersfield on Saturday that ‘Virgil will be here on September 1’ but relations between club and player are understood to be at an all-time low and he has his heart set on leaving.
It is likely, then, that Liverpool will pursue Van Dijk before the deadline, particularly with Arsenal and Chelsea also waiting in the wings. Should any move materialise, it will be a world record fee for a defender and cost more than £70m.
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