Manchester City are plotting a staggering £50 million move for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk and have already held "discreet talks" in their bid to land the defender.
That's according to Sami Mokbel of Daily Mail, who wrote that contact over a January switch has been made recently, as manager Pep Guardiola looks to plug the holes in his suspect back line.
Should a £50 million bid not be enough in the upcoming transfer window, City's director of football, Txiki Begiristain, will go back in for the 25-year-old in the summer.
Van Dijk has been a revelation since joining the Saints from Celtic back in 2015, having quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
Many thought the Dutchman was set for a move to one of the division's big boys after two stellar seasons in the Scottish Premiership, with Adam Skinner of Daily Express among those reporting that Manchester United and Arsenal were interested. But none of the superpowers came calling.
Although the Saints paid a then-club-record fee for the defender that could rise to as much as £13 million, per David Hytner of the Guardian, they’ve certainly got their money’s worth.
Southampton boss Claude Puel recently went so far as to say that Van Dijk could become one of the best defenders in football but also noted that a smart career move would be for him to stay on the south coast, per Joe Prince-Wright of NBC Sports:
Van Dijk is a great player and has a contract. It is important all of the good players stay with us and continue their work and improve with Southampton. He has the ability to become one of the five or six best defenders in the world. He has the capacity, it is difficult to see something better on him. It is important he continues with stability, Southampton is a good club for him.
Even so, Southampton aren’t the kind of club to shy away from a healthy profit, and if City were to come calling and offer £37 million more than what the Saints paid, it would be hard for them to decline.
Van Dijk is under contract at St. Mary's Stadium until the summer of 2022, but Mokbel wrote that the defender is aware of Manchester City’s interest and would be tempted by the prospect of Champions League football.
Guardiola is under pressure to deliver big-name signings and good results over the winter period, starting with a trip to Hull City on Boxing Day before a testing away day against Liverpool on New Year's Eve.